A computerized program was developed to screen students with learning disabilities, using standardized tests from student records. Children who are one-third or more behind in their expected reading level would be identified as having a possible learning disability. (Author)

The purpose for which a test is needed is the most important criterion for deciding which type of student assessment tool should be used. Standardized tests were developed as sorting instruments based upon certain views of knowledge and learning. Educators, according to their own values, must either bring standardized tests more into line with…

Tests can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the child, not only in terms of right and wrong answers, but also in terms of how and why the child succeeds or fails to meet significant mathematical standards. (JD)

Reviewed is research on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, which are designed to assess several areas of a child's cognitive and motor development from the age of 2 1/2 to 8 1/2 years. (Author)

Recommends that standardized achievement tests for first to ninth graders be limited to three uses: home reports, monitoring of longitudinal performance trends in the basic skill areas, and annual monitoring for unusually low score comparisons. Recommendations deliberately exclude early childhood and high school testing and testing for individual…

Test development included designing, screening, and field testing of test items; compilation into an examination administered to a target group; and norm development for score comparison with a national sample. (MSE)

Forms L and M of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were administered to severely hearing-impaired 4- to 14-year-olds (N=102) to obtain test norms for hearing-impaired children. Mean scores for these subjects were lower than those of normally-hearing peers, illustrating differences of rates of vocabulary acquisition between hearing-impaired and…

Compares the use of writing samples and standardized tests for college English placement, arguing that a single writing sample is not sufficient for proper evaluation, and provides guidelines for using standardized tests appropriately and accurately. (HTH)

In 1984, a Maryland elementary school publicized standardized test scores showing black students trailing white students by 25 points. Alarmed by this gap, a district task force found the root cause--negative attitudes about black students' potential--and launched an effective schools process in 171 schools. Two supporting programs are described.…

Analysis of data from standard affective measures showed both an orthogonally rotated and an obliquely rotated factor solution yielded psychological dimensions that correspond to instrument's scales. Study Attitudes and Methods Survey was studied, using data on a total of 483 eleventh graders. Both solutions afforded comparable inferences about…

This overview of state requirements for school library media certification discusses the use by some states of competency-based requirements and/or standardized tests, and the standards proposed in "Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs" (ALA, 1988). A table presents information on individual states and a directory of…

Claims commonly held beliefs are 1) that English Education should reflect industrial needs, 2) that the role of literature should be diminished, and 3) that norm-referenced exams are an important evaluative measure. Warns that a national curriculum based on this current popular thought could be destructive to public education.(AH)

Sixty-five Hispanic students (average age 9.9 years) were evaluated for placement in a gifted/accelerated program. Of the five standardized tests administered, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) identified the highest proportion of gifted/accelerated students; the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test and reading achievement scores…

A national survey of medical schools concerning the use made of Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores in selecting students found wide variation in practices. Some institutions regarded the subtest scores equally and individually, some weighted the areas according to their curricula, and some summed or averaged scores with weighting. (MSE)

A method for curriculum evaluation that utilizes content and student performance analyses of both an external certifying exam and curriculum components is reported. Findings demonstrate that a multidisciplinary grouping of courses can satisfactorily cover content deemed important by external judges and by internal course directors and instructors.…