Plans for new school/university entrance examinations and program assessment in the Republic of Korea are examined as such plans represent a significant variable in the formula for educational reform. In 1987, a Presidential Commission on Educational Reform identified evaluation and testing as a critical factor in the reconstruction of the…

This study tests several explanations for discrepant results in an earlier study (Cook et al., 1985) which presented a partial pre-calibration method for equating new editions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to the same scale as older editions. In contrast to full pre-calibration, which seeks to equate all items from two or more editions,…

The study empirically examines the effects of economic and non-economic variables on college persistence by presenting a causal model that relies on both economic theory and V. Tinto's Student Integration Model in order to enhance an understanding of the role of finances on the college persistence process. Analyses conducted upon a sample of 466…

Findings of teaching effectiveness research were related to the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) Test of Professional Knowledge (TPK). Delphi methodology was used to classify TPK items according to findings in a selected review of research. Six professors in teacher education completed a questionnaire to rate seven literature reviews. The three…

Determining the overall pass rates on the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) for a given cohort of students involves an analysis of both the first-time examinee performance and subsequent pass rates of students who failed the test and retook it at a later date. Two increases in the scores required to pass the CLAST in 1986 and 1989 have…

Guidelines, practical suggestions, and examples are offered to assist teachers in planning and developing tests to accurately measure student achievement. The six chapters cover: (1) planning tests; (2) developing tests; (3) assembling and administering tests; (4) interpreting test results; (5) assessing test items; and (6) improving test validity…

This paper summarizes an investigation of applications and issues in free response (FR) testing during 1989. It draws on ideas from the results of the National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88) field test, a seminar series at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), working papers prepared for several FR testing applications, and…

The concepts of universe of admissible observation and universe of generalization from the generalizability theory were applied to calculate the intraclass correlation coefficient of a licensure test. The internal consistency coefficient of a dichotomously scored test is identical to the intraclass correlation coefficient of a two-facet design.…

The history of test coaching has shown that positive benefits can be produced from short-term orientation, practice, and drill. Coaching on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) has been especially scrutinized for efficacy and has shown modest program effects, despite the limited scope and duration of such programs. The present investigation expands…

The traditional multiple-choice reading comprehension test of English as a second language, used in the Dutch school-leaving examinations, has been criticized for its apparent lack of construct validity. The Dutch National Institute for Educational Measurement has conducted a number of studies to determine whether there is a different skill…

The advantages of applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data are widely recognized. However, because CFA as traditionally applied to MTMM data incorporates single indicators of each scale (i.e., each trait/method combination), important weaknesses are the failure to: (1) correct appropriately for measurement…

California has provided other states with an example of how not to assess student writing and has initiated a new direction in the statewide assessment of student writing achievement, a direction designed to influence writing instruction positively. Before 1987, the California Assessment Program (CAP) limited English skills assessment to multiple…

This report explores the student background characteristics that might be associated with success or failure in calculus and evaluates the effectiveness of remedial mathematics education. The sample consisted of two groups at the University of California, Santa Cruz: (1) all students (105) who took first quarter calculus in spring, 1985; and (2)…

To help college reading teachers develop an awareness of what standardized reading tests do and do not reveal about students' reading abilities, a study examined the testing of reading and criticized four major standardized tests. Results indicated that reading is tested through (1) reading passages accompanied by multiple choice questions, (2)…

The subsequent school progress of children who attended the Get Set Day Care (GSDC) or Prekindergarten Head Start (PKHS) preschool programs compared to peers who had a different type or no preschool experience is examined in this document. The study corroborates the two major findings of the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies: that preschool…