Cites data to support a serious decline in literacy in the United States since the mid-1960s. Discusses the significance of the decline. (JMF)

Various approaches to research about reading disablities are described in historical perspective. The development of reading diagnosis is discussed in terms of: (1) a shift from a medical to an educational concern; (2) the use of standardized tests; (3) the movement in diagnosis from psychological laboratories to the classroom; and (4) the use of…

Discusses recent discrimination suits involving the use of standarized intelligence tests to place children in special education classes. (WD)

Argues that standardized, machine-scored tests do not test writing skills and that the emphasis on such tests has a deleterious effect on the acquisition of writing skills. (IRT)

The study compared the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery Tests of Cognitive Ability and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised for a sample of 51 learning disabled children (7-11 years old). (Author/SBH)

Three-fourths of the states have mandated some form of testing. Problems are discussed and practical recommendations about implementation are offered. (Author/MLF)

Recounts one school system's attempt to impose competency tests on its teachers and discusses the experience of other districts with standarized tests for teachers and teacher applicants. (IRT)

Rebuts articles asserting that the steep decline in school test scores has been stopped. (IRT)

Examines the controversy surrounding the administration of the Metropolitan Achievement Test on reading and the subsequent recall of the results data by the chancellor of the New York City schools. (IRT)

The sparsity of significant positive relationships between the National Teacher Examination (NTE) scores and teaching performance ratings, when coupled with the presence of a few significant negative relationships, tends to undermine confidence in the relationship of NTE scores to teaching performance ratings. (Author/IRT)

This investigation suggests that observation of children's language in an informal context generally provides more comprehensive information about a kindergarten child's communicative competence than formal oral language assessment instruments. (DD)

Reflections on what is and is not popular knowledge about education, including widespread misinformation about open education, testing, and nonschool influences on students. (IRT)

Designed to monitor school accountability, KIRIS (Kentucky Instructional Results Information System) offers a powerful lesson about how high-stakes accountability systems can distort and undermine original visions for effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. Changes have been influenced by several interconnected elements:…

Educational Testing Service completed a four-year study that analyzed results from over 400 different assessments and 1,500 data sets involving millions of students. By comparing statistic Ds (standard mean difference) across assessments, researchers found that gender differences among subject areas are smaller than one might expect but grow by…