The use of performance assessment for instruction and accountability and the support for its use provided by the school district were studied in three suburban school districts in Colorado, New York, and Illinois. Two were elementary and secondary districts, but the Illinois district was a high school district. All three districts have employed…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) has a long history, dating back to the 1930s, when it was devised specifically for measuring the intelligence of children through verbal and performance subtests. Intelligence quotients (IQs) are developed for verbal and performance skills. The subtests, their factors, indices derived from them,…

In a previous paper the authors presented a model of assessing portfolios, the Cognitive Model for Assessing Portfolios (CMAP), as a lens to view, think about, and make decisions about portfolio projects. Two projects in which the CMAP has been used are described. One is an authentic assessment project in mathematics and science by the Educational…

The predictive validity of scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I and Part II examinations for the selection of residents in orthopaedic surgery was investigated. Use of NBME scores has been criticized because of the time lag between taking Part I and entering residency and because Part I content is not directly linked to…

The Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation (GSP) test is administered to students in the College of Communication at the University of Texas, Austin, as a means of determining eligibility to register for certain courses in journalism, broadcasting, and advertising. The test was administered in a paper-and-pencil version to 16 students and in a…

The New Jersey Assembly Education Committee studied the development and administration of the New Jersey Department of Education's skills testing program. A committee meeting received testimony about the program and reviewed correspondence. The committee has found that the academic standards of the state must be raised and that a high school…

Roles suggested for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in proposed national testing are discussed. Recent proposals center around monitoring, evaluation and accountability, and serving as a benchmark for other tests. Monitoring has been the traditional function of the NAEP, and in this role, its influence has been substantial.…

In the Teacher-to-Teacher series of the National Education Association's Professional Library, teachers speak directly to other teachers about school restructuring issues. This volume covers issues in student assessment, focusing on student portfolios and their uses in reflecting student processes, collaboration, and literacy. Various portfolios…

This report is aimed at helping Congress: (1) better understand the functions, history, capabilities, limitations, uses, and misuses of educational tests; (2) learn more about the promises and pitfalls of new assessment methods and technologies; and (3) identify and weigh policy options affecting educational policy. To prepare this report, the…

The Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory (SWAI) developed by J. F. Efstation, M. J. Patton, and C. M. Kardash (1990) was further evaluated for its psychometric properties and relationships with the Personal Reactions Scale--Revised (PRS-R) developed by E. L. Holloway and B. E. Wampold (1984), the only other measure of the relationship in…

Tables for testing clinical hypotheses about counseling clients are presented, and their use is described. Primary uses are determining a critical value or cutoff score on a predictor that can be used to classify an individual as a member of a clinical group, and instructing those unfamiliar with the limitations of tests about the conditions under…

It is noted that while language proficiency tests are not an ideal method for predicting student performance, they are commonly used as admission criteria. A methodology for comparing college tests of English as a Second Language (ESL) that are used for program admission is offered. The procedure imposes certain constraints on data collection,…

H.R. 2846, a bill to prohibit spending Federal education funds on national testing without explicit and specific legislation was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Committee, having reviewed the bill, reports favorably on it in this document, proposes some amendments, and recommends…

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Summit that focused on the education and academic achievement of African American students was unique because the school district and the African American community came together as partners to seek ways to improve the educational status of African American students. This report tells the story of…

This handbook has been written for college teachers regardless of their prior training in pedagogy, assessment, or education. It is a practical handbook, designed for easy reference. Part 1 can provide either an introduction to Classroom Assessment or a comprehensive review, depending on the reader's prior experience. The first chapter explains…