Arguments against competency testing surface continually, and classic counter-arguments reoccur. Nevertheless, minimum competency testing and other accountability efforts have much public support. Those claiming that the tests are not relevant or do not have predictive validity, also say they are coachable and biased. Answers are given to these…

In exploring factors inhibiting formal evaluation at the school district level, and limiting the utility of conventional achievement monitoring, this paper begins with a review of the actual origin of the Elementary Secondary Education Act's (ESEA) evaluation requirements, and the attempts to implement national evaluation of ESEA Title I programs.…

To develop an approach for a nondiscriminatory identification model for gifted students in Rome (GA) City Schools, mean IQ scores on the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability test were compared for fourth, fifth, and tenth grade students divided into four groups: White advantaged, White disadvantaged, Black advantaged, and Black disadvantaged. A significant…

Standardized test scores (STS) should be used on a local level: (1) as one component of evaluation of a student, school, or district; (2) to draw as much interpretive meaning from a norm-referenced test (NRT) as their structure will support; (3) as a communication device with students, parents, the public, and professional staff; (4) to check…

Many states have adopted minimal competency testing in reading or writing, assuming that goals of basic education are measurable and that testing for such goals is technologically feasible. It is not clear that such testing comes at a time in history when the quality of education is demonstrably lower than at other times in American education. The…

Thirty-five second-year medical students from the University of Alabama (Birmingham) used the services of a commercial test tutoring company to help them prepare for the National Board of Medical Examiners Part I examination. These students scored significantly higher than students who were considered to have comparable ability, based upon basic…

This report focuses on the extent to which conclusions about the effectiveness of compensatory education programs are affected by (1) the period of time on which the evaluation is based, and (2) the standard against which the program is judged. Previously collected evaluation data from four compensatory education programs (grades 1-8) are…

This is a report on the results of the Citywide Reading Test administered in June, 1979, in the elementary, intermediate and junior high schools of New York City. The testing instruments used were the California Achievement Tests. Section A of this report presents information on pupil performance for the school system as a whole. Section B…

Item content of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is catagorized using 100 items from a half-length sample TOEFL published by Educational Testing Service (ETS), 120 items from Section II and 150 from the Section IV of Test of English as a Foreign Language (Gruber and Gruber), and 200 items from How to Prepare for the TOEFL by…

THE POSSIBILITY OF PREDICTIVE ERROR WHEN APPLYING U.S. MAINLAND NORMS FOR THE GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY TO THE EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING AND SELECTION PROCESS IN PUERTO RICO, PROMPTED A STUDY TO ESTABLISH LOCAL NORMS FOR THE SPANISH LANGUAGE VERSION, BATERIA GENERAL DE PRUEBAS DE APTITUD. A STRATIFIED QUOTA SAMPLE OF 1,500 PERSONS WAS SELECTED…

WHILE REPORTS ON THE USE OF STANDARDIZED TESTS IN JUNIOR COLLEGES ARE COMMONLY TABULATIONS OF SCORES, SOME COLLEGES HAVE STUDIED TOPICS SUCH AS THE RELATIONSHIP OF TEST SCORES TO GENERAL COLLEGE ACHIEVEMENT, VALIDITY OF TEST SCORES IN PREDICTING SUCCESS IN SPECIFIC COURSES, AND EVALUATION OF CHANGES IN STUDENTS DURING THEIR COLLEGE EXPERIENCES.…

ON THE BASIS OF A REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS IN THE ERIC CLEARINGHOUSE FOR JUNIOR COLLEGE INFORMATION, THE AUTHOR CONCLUDED THAT THERE IS NEED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF CLASSROOM TESTS IN JUNIOR COLLEGES. SHE SUGGESTS THE NEED FOR INTERCHANGE OF IDEAS AND REPORTS OF PRACTICES, AND CITES AS EXAMPLES REPORTS IN THE CLEARINGHOUSE…

A BRIEF HISTORY IS GIVEN OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBJECTIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TESTS FOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, FROM 1916 TO THE PRESENT. THERE IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE EARLY EFFORTS TO CONSTRUCT OBJECTIVE TESTS AND THE IMPERFECTIONS OF SOME OF THESE EXAMINATIONS. LATER TESTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN CURRENT USE, ARE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, WITH EMPHASIS…

THIS THREE-PART STUDY WAS CONCERNED WITH THE MANNER IN WHICH CERTAIN VARIABLES SEEMED TO BE RELATED TO THE OUTCOMES OF TEST INTERPRETATION AND TO STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR TEACHERS' PERCEPTION OF THEM. PART ONE WAS CONCERNED WITH THE OUTCOMES OF TEST INTERPRETATION AS RELATED TO SUCH FACTORS AS (A) COUNSELOR WHO INTERPRETED THE…

Fear of poor teaching and low national test scores have spawned a back to basics movement and a shift from the use of tests as predictors and models to that of assessment and achievement. This movement may have positive impact on the teaching of English, which previously has not lent itself well to standardized testing. Although many English…