English and Spanish versions of a guide to testing reform are presented. The guide explains alternatives to standardized testing for educational assessment and shows how these new methods of evaluation will improve education. Standardized tests are used for an increasing number of purposes in the school system, but there is no proof that their use…

Some of the major findings of CSE's (Center for the Study of Evaluation) Test Use in Schools Project are synthesized and interpreted. The Project incorporated fieldwork and survey techniques to answer questions about the kinds of tests teachers administer in their classrooms, the kinds of information teachers need from tests to make decisions…

This guide was developed to assist home economics teachers in implementing the Missouri Vocational Instructional Management System in an intermediate clothing and textiles semester course. A minimum of two performance objectives were developed and validated for each competency by teachers with expertise in the area of clothing and textiles and one…

This guide was developed to assist home economics teachers in implementing the Missouri Vocational Instructional Management System into the home economics curriculum at the local level through a family living and parenthood semester course. The course contains a minimum of two performance objectives for each competency developed and validated by…

An activity was undertaken to develop written criterion-referenced tests for the forestry component of Applied Principles of Agribusiness and Natural Resources. Intended for tenth grade students who have completed Fundamentals of Agribusiness and Natural Resources Occupations, applied principles were designed to consist of three components, with…

In response to a mandate from the California State Legislature, the California Board of Corrections conducted a three-phase research study in preparation for the revision and standardization of the current state standards for hiring and training corrections personnel. The primary focus of the second phase of the project was on the development and…

Drawn from the proceedings of the 1985 Western College Reading and Learning Association, as well as articles submitted for juried selection, the papers in this journal issue focus on reading, learning assistance, developmental education, and tutorial services at the college level. Titles and authors of the papers include (1) "Reaching New Heights:…

This document contains three papers developed by the Center for the Study of Evaluation's (CSE's) Research into Practice Project. The first paper, "A Process for Designing and Implementing a Dual Purpose Evaluation System," by Pamela Aschbacher and James Burry, provides a model for evaluating programs for two purposes simultaneously: (1) program…

Court ordered desegregation introduces significant requirements for school districts' testing programs. The Remedial Order in effect in Cleveland, Ohio (Reed vs. Rhodes) cautions defendants that "they must insure that all tests, whether standardized, criterion-referenced, or teacher-made are developed, administered, and scored in a…

The Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST), was developed at Educational Testing Service at the request of the National Teachers Examination Policy Council. The battery of three tests is designed to provide objective, standardized measures of basic proficiency in reading, mathematics, and writing. The steps in the test development process of this…

Intended to assist instructors who wish to conduct a training course for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) serving as dispatchers, this document contains detailed lesson plans organized to structure course presentations. Each lesson plan includes the following elements: unit objectives; suggestions for adapting the lessons to local policies and…

This fourth in a series of six learning modules on instructional planning is designed to help secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers develop skills necessary to write a lesson plan and ability to use a lesson plan form effectively. Introductory sections relate the competency dealt with in this module to others in the program and list both…

Latent trait theory supposes that, in testing situations, examinee performance on a test can be predicted (or explained) by defining examinee characteristics, referred to as traits, estimating scores for examinees on these traits and using the scores to predict or explain test performance (Lord and Novick, 1968). In view of the breakthroughs in…

This paper describes the response of the Chicago school district to an Illinois State board of education directive that local school districts have an ongoing program of assessing student achievement and educational programs. The minimum competency testing program in place before the directive is discussed. The testing program and the nongraded…

Components of the Proficiency Testing System (PTS) designed for the Central Valley School District, Washington, are described. Components are: (1) progress assessment, consisting of norm referenced tests, writing samples, diagnostic tests, and ability checklists; (2) user assistance, including an objectives manual, inservice workshop, and a…