This field memo is the third in a series of updates from the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education to all teachers and administrators of public and nonpublic schools on standards and assessments in New York. This document explains how the New York State Education Department determines if test…

This book is designed to help K-12 teachers and administrators understand the nature of standardized tests and, in particular, the scores that result from them. This useful manual helps teachers develop the skills necessary to incorporate these test scores into various types of instructional decision making--a process known as "data-driven…

This guide is organized into five chapters; (1) an approach to testing--decisions made from test results, types of achievement tests, types and levels of objectives, and test validity, reliability, and practicality; (2) classroom test construction--planning, item banks, item writing, assembly, administration, and scoring; (3) test analysis-item…

This manual presents an admissions scattergram as a tool to help school counselors who are working with high school students making college decisions. The approach described in the manual encourages student initiative in exploring, discovering, and deciding by following a rational process of understanding how to make an appropriate decision. An…

While school leaders have long sought a definitive tool for assessing teacher affect and dispositions, a practical method for measurement has proven elusive. This book presents a conceptual framework that helps educators understand what "appropriate dispositions" are, why it is important to measure them, and how to implement an assessment process…

This guide is designed to help the user better understand the different types of career assessments and how the user and others may want to use them to make career decisions. Information is presented in question and answer format. These topics are covered: how assessment tests can help; how assessments are used by counselors and employers; how…

Developed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*NET) team, the O*NET[TM] Career Exploration Tools (Version 3.0) consist of three main parts: (1) the Interest Profiler; (2) the Work Importance Locator; and (3) the O*NET[TM] Occupations Combined List. The Interest Profiler is a self-assessment career exploration tool…

Two veteran high school counselors answer college bound students' common questions about selecting and applying to colleges. Topics discussed include where to begin research, criteria for selecting schools, number of applications to submit, parent role, getting counselors' help, relative importance of admission criteria, applying to parents' alma…