Two studies attempted to clarify the Intellectual Tasks test assessment of number conservation by testing for two possible artifacts due to procedure: (1) Effects of preceding questions on the following test questions, and (2) operations or manipulations of the test materials by the examiner. Forty Mexican-American first and second graders were…

Although the "Don't Know" (DK) option has received telling criticism in maximum performance summative tests, its potential use in formative evaluation was considered and judged to be more promising. The pretest of an instructional module was administered with DK options. Examinees were then required to answer each question to which they had…

The 1968 Invitational Conference on Testing Problems dealt with educational evaluation and the problems of the socially disadvantaged. Papers presented in Session I, Educational Evaluation--Various Levels and Aspects, were: (1) "The Comparative Field Experiment: An Illustration from High school Biology" by Richard C. Anderson; (2) "Evaluation of…

This report reviews the employment testing of minorities and discusses the limitations of the test results. Statistical validation of test results is stressed as a means to avoid cultural bias and avoid discriminatory screening tests. Noting that fair hiring practices and valid tests may not be enough to provide equal employment opportunities for…

This bulletin deals with the assessment of religious knowledge in the context of the examinaton for the Certificate of Secondary Education in England. In particular, the examination was devised in the hope of trying to determine whether or not it would be possible to assess the total impact on pupils of a four-year course in religious education…

Certain concepts that are sometimes confused in discussions on testing socially disadvantaged children are clarified and a history of testing, beginning with Binet, is presented. Finally, five problems in using tests to evaluate educational programs for the disadvantaged are considered. (AG)

This paper reports two experiments whose purpose was to relate two bodies of research on anxiety: test and trait-state anxiety. It was reasoned that state anxiety measures obtained in an evaluation testing condition should be more similar to test anxiety than state anxiety measures obtained in non-evaluative situations, such as a game in Study I…

This paper addresses itself to the history and use of standardized aptitude and achievement tests for practical judgements about schools in New Jersey. In the author's opinion, school-wide aptitude testing is not a particularly useful practice when other types of information, particularly grades, achievement tests, and teacher's comments, are…

Using examples from evaluations of the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) Basic Grants Program, the ESAA Pilot Program, and the sustaining effects of compensatory education programs, school and student attrition are discussed. As in the example cases, appreciable attrition can be expected in most longitudinal studies. The possible effects of this…

A detailed analysis of standard setting and criteria for test scores and educational decisions is presented. The author contends that present procedures are in need of re-examination. (JKS)

For the training and placement of professional workers, multiple-choice instruments are the norm for wide-scale measurement and evaluation efforts. These instruments contain fundamental problems. Computer-based management simulations may provide solutions to these problems, appear scoreable and reliable, offer increased validity, and are better…

Presents some of the issues examined by the Commission on Standardized Testing and the Evaluation of Potential Among Minority Group Members. Focuses on issues surrounding the testing of minority group members, i.e., the dangers of misclassification, test fairness and accountability. (DOW)

This article examines 10 critical factors to be considered in selecting a well constructed standardized tests. The 10 factors may serve as model selection criteria for educational practitioners who are responsible for selecting tests for Black students. (Author/DOW)

To correct for measurement error in the correlation of student status with achievement gain, the simplex model was used. Results supported the authors' hypothesis that status and gain are correlated. Students who start out as low achievers may need more help over time to maintain the same academic growth as higher achievers. (Author/MV)