This paper explores some of the obstacles to implementation of tests required for graduation by describing state programs in existence as of October 1994 in which students were required to pass a test in order to receive a high school diploma. A survey of state testing directors used to construct the State Student Assessment Program Database was…

This book for college faculty provides a resource for developing, using, and grading classroom exams. The first chapter addresses ways to determine what content should be included on an exam. The second chapter identifies testing considerations such as number of exams, difficulty level of items, and test length. Chapters 3 and 4 provide guidelines…

This synthesis of research on alternative assessment methods in teacher education reviews literature on performance assessment, describing the various types of assessment discussed by M. Priestley (1982), including: (1) actual performance assessments (work-sample tests, identification tests, supervisor ratings, peer ratings, and self-assessments);…

As the country began to debate the proposition that the United States adopt a national examination system, it became apparent that information was needed about the present extent and cost of testing, as well as the estimated cost of a national examination system. In the fall of 1991, the General Accounting Office (GAO) surveyed testing officials…

Students with high scores (top third) on the essay portion of an Advanced Placement Examination (AP) (College Board) and low scores (bottom third) on the multiple-choice portion of the same examination were compared with students whose performance showed the opposite pattern. Across examinations in different subject areas (history, English, and…

This document is the United States/Canada edition of the information bulletin for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE). The bulletin provides information and registration forms necessary for taking the TOEFL or TSE. The purpose of the TOEFL is to evaluate the North American English proficiency of…

Results of the third administration of the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), a statewide testing program for fourth-, eighth-, and 12th-grade students, are summarized. The assessment contains multiple-choice and open-ended questions in reading. mathematics, science, and social studies. In 1990, approximately 155,000 students…

Classical measurement theory was used to investigate measurement characteristics of both parts of the Finding Embedded Figures Test (FEFT) when the test was: administered in either a "no guessing" supply format or a multiple-choice selection format; administered to either undergraduate college students or middle school students; and…

Reliability and validity of multiple-choice examinations as a function of the number of options per item and of student ability were computed for 435 junior class parochial high school students in the tri-county area of Portland (Oregon). The verbal section of the Washington Pre-College Test Battery was used. The least discriminating options were…

The reliability, content validity, and construct validity were compared for two test formats in a public examination used to assess a secondary school geography course. The 11-item geography portion of the Intermediate Certificate Examination (essay examination) was administered in June 1987 to 400 secondary school students in Ireland who also…

In 1985, for the first time, Pennsylvania's student assessment program included measures of a higher order thinking skills goal termed Analytical Thinking. These tests utilize a decision-making model to assess such skills as drawing inferences, identifying appropriate information to gather before making a decision, analogical reasoning,…

A proficiency examination developed for placing non-native English-speakers in appropriate expository writing courses is described. The instrument is a multiple-choice examination containing items that test specific expository writing skills through reading skills. The rationale for including such items for placement in expository writing courses,…

A number of hypotheses were tested concerning elements of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) items that might affect the performance of blacks and whites differently. These elements were characteristics common to several items that otherwise measured different concepts. Seven general hypotheses were tested in the form of sixteen specific…

In July 1984, the Texas Legislature mandated the criterion-referenced tests designed to assess minimum basic competencies in mathematics, reading, and writing. During the 1985-86 school year, the Texas Education Agency instituted the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) program to measure student competencies at grades 1, 3, 5,…

The mathematics objective-item bank contains 100 objectives each represented by five to eight multiple choice items. Grade levels covered are one through eight. The objectives deal with such topics as decimals, fractions, geometry, graphs and charts, integers, numeration, problem solving, and whole number operations. The items have been field…