This study examines the criterion-related and construct validity of the Career Maturity Inventory Competence Test, administered to 260 ninth-grade pupils. Results show the Competence Test is more highly correlated with the Cognitive Vocational Maturity Test than it is with the Attitude Scale. (Author)

Suggestions are given for teachers to operate an individualized mathematics program at the sixth-grade level. (MM)

Although most states use a single strategy for statewide assessment, one Midwestern state has chosen a model in which local school districts are responsible for developing strategies to measure and report students' progress on state-adopted content strategies. This paper describes the state assessment system and focuses on the perspectives of…

"Standard" is distinguished from "criterion" as it is used in criterion-referenced testing. The former is argued to refer to the real-world cutpoint at which a decision is made based on a test's result (e.g., exemption from a special training program). The latter is a skill or set of skills to which a test is referenced.…

A discussion of a task analysis procedure which was used to develop a task-based curriculum for hospital corpsmen. (Author)

A comprehensive review of test practices and recommendations for setting up a district testing program that will meet informational needs. (Editor)

Counselors tend to see their role in a therapeutic vein but feel they are increasingly constrained to focus time and attention on meeting numeric quotas. The pressure to meet the closed-placed'' quota often conflicts with the needs of good rehabilitation practices. (Editor)

The reasons for using tests in early childhood programs are (1) to increase teachers' confidence in their role performance; (2) to explain and defend early childhood programs; (3) to promote consistency across programs; (4) to provide curriculum and instruction guidance to teachers; and (5) to focus teachers and parents on the more measurable…

A school board member explains test score interpretation, how to make sure teachers can interpret tests to parents, and how to release scores. (JM)

Survey research establishes that beardedness correlates with many desired outcomes and supports that a minimal level of beardedness be set as a prerequisite for high school graduation. Research problems of concept clarification, domain-definition, instrument development, and standard setting methods are discussed. The political considerations of…

This study examined how local content specialists performed when applying the Angoff and Nedelsky standard setting procedures to objective-referenced instruments in reading and mathematics. Results revealed several differences between the standard setting procedures in terms of both level and consistency of the cut scores generated. (Author/BW)

Discusses general principles of language testing, stressing objectivity and reliability as the key terms. However, maintains that it is impossible to obtain a direct measure of linguistic competence and consequently questions the value of standard grading procedures. Instead, proposes an evaluation system based on the achievement of specific…

Since competency-based instruction is based on the testing process, this study suggests that careful attention to the construction of tests can produce a reliable, valid measure. The next steps to be taken include developing larger banks of test items, increasingly accurate tests, and instruction to meet specified objectives of the curriculum.…

Described is a joint project of 23 Illinois school districts to develop criterion-referenced test item pools in mathematics and language arts to meet the day-to-day testing needs of classroom teachers and to aid in the development of minimum competency tests mandated by Illinois Senate Bill 238. (Author/SJL)

Once a year every student in Hazelwood (Missouri) high schools is required to write a composition. This Total School Writing Assessment is a major step in an effort to emphasize writing skills and to make writing competence a requirement for graduation. (SK)