In an examination of speaker-induced variability in an auditory perceptual test, recordings of the PBK word list were mixed with white noise and played to a group of normal hearing college students and a group of normal hearing junior high school students. (Author/CL)

A program designed to administer questionnaires on IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers is described. The program prompts subjects to indicate responses by clicking on a graphic line segment or entering a numeric value. The program enhances accuracy in estimating moderating effects by overcoming transcriptional errors and scale coarseness.…

Discusses three common misconceptions about achievement testing: (1) the idea that men generally outscore women; (2) the notion that the primary role of norms is to compare one student to another; and (3) the misconception that it is not possible to measure the achievement of kindergarten and primary grade students with group tests. (SLD)

Discusses current high-stakes standardized testing policy in response to G. Cizek through analogy with the policies of Chairman Mao in China and the decision to build the Maginot Line in France after World War I. Lessons from these events show that high-stakes policies skew outcomes and present high risk. (SLD)

Although G. Cizek's article balances positive consequences for high-stakes testing against anti-testing criticisms, there is no evidence that high-stakes testing per se has substantial positive consequences. There is, however, optimism that aligned educational systems with testing as a component may lead to higher levels of student achievement.…

Responds to critiques of an earlier article on the unintended consequences of high-stakes testing. Reiterates the need to look for positive as well as negative consequences of high stakes testing and calls for balance between the role of large-scale assessment in identifying achievement deficits and the responsibility educational systems have to…

Discusses the issues involved in using achievement tests as a proxy indicator of educational quality, the mechanisms underlying score inflation, and the perverse incentives that can result from simple test-based accountability. Suggests ways to improve incentives by using multiple forms of assessment. (Contains 51 references.) (SK)

Discusses several problems associated with standardized testing. Proposes possible solutions to these problems, and calls for a new perspective on testing which utilizes informal tests and teacher observations of reading behavior. (MM)

A study of inconsistent person-response patterns in the test with 1,000 students from each of 2 test administrations found a high incidence of atypical response patterns. The findings are seen as having serious implications for the admissions procedure, since atypical response patterns invalidate the standard scores reported for those students.…

Explores rhetorical specification in writing tasks by examining responses to a poorly constructed task used in large-scale placement testing at a major university. Argues that fictional scenarios (writing prompts which give student writers a role to play) can be effective, provided that the roles created are reasonable ones for students to adopt.…

A model is proposed for investigating test validity as a predictor of a criterion variable when there are both missing and censored scores in the data set. Implications for maximum likelihood estimation are discussed, and the method is illustrated with hypothetical data sets. (SLD)

The effective schools approach has had its best success in small- and medium-sized systems with an insistent superintendent and board of education. Restructuring, like the effective schools movement, is the invention of urban educators confronting the necessities of poor and minority students. School effectiveness strengths need to be incorporated…

Elementary teachers often spend so much time on reading, writing, and mathematics that science gets short shrift. Since science instruction is weak, testing is disappointing. This article suggests ways to improve large-scale and teacher-controlled science assessments. A sidebar lists questions to ask about tests. Includes 12 references. (MLH)

Responding to concerns over the lack of statewide assessment, Vermont educators, with citizen support, have decided to use portfolios of student work, beginning with writing and mathematics and expanding into other curriculum areas. Standardized tests will play an important, although secondary role. Student and teacher responsibility will increase…

This critique of a paper by Linda Siegel (EC221505) challenges Siegel's assumptions on the relationship of Intelligence Quotient to learning disabilities as being unacceptable and non-literature-based, and points out that discussion of Intelligence Quotient cutoffs may be moot given that 49 states employ no cutoff for learning disabilities. (JDD)