Educational achievement and its relation to college admission were studied for 482 high school seniors in Athens (Greece) in mid-1985, whose grades and college entrance examination scores were reviewed. Consistency in the grading system and social equity in college admission were found. Pedagogical, socioeconomic, and policy implications are…

The impact of frequency of classroom testing on achievement was studied for nearly 2,000 tenth grade male biology students in Saudi Arabia tested monthly or semimonthly. Students tested more often outperformed others on end-of-semester and delayed recall (three months) tests. (SLD)

The influence of test wiseness on the performance of 736 high school seniors in British Columbia on provincial school leaving examinations in English, algebra, geography, history, biology, and chemistry was studied. The performance of many students on the multiple-choice sections was spuriously enhanced by test wiseness. (TJH)

Using a schooling model and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) data for 79,428 Californian students, questions raised by school comparisons based on SAT results were addressed: the role of demographic/academic characteristics in student SAT participation, and the relationship of participation rates and examinee/school demographics to SAT performance.…

Reviews the Standard Assessment Tasks used to evaluate pupil performance relative to the National Curriculum in England and Wales. Asserts that the system of assigning students to one of 10 levels of attainment is criterion-referenced, whereas the test is norm-referenced. (CFR)

Three articles examine the Asia Youth Health Related Fitness Test proposed by the Asia Regional Board of the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance. The articles look at test results on fitness levels and knowledge from Japan, China, and Hong Kong. (SM)

A scoring algorithm for performance assessments is described that is based on expert judgments but requires the rating of only a sample of performances. A regression-based policy capturing procedure was implemented for clinicians evaluating skills of 280 medical students. Results demonstrate the usefulness of the algorithm. (SLD)

In "The Manufactured Crisis," D. Berliner and B. Biddle argue that there has been no decline in achievement test scores, that today's students outperform their parents and do well in international examinations, and that the supposed crisis in American education does not exist. This review refutes all these claims. (SLD)

In their arguments that there is actually no crisis in American education and that students are achieving more than previous generations, David Berliner and Bruce Biddle have ignored or dismissed extensive data on student achievement that demonstrate the failings of the American system. (SLD)

Discusses results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in the Netherlands. The TIMSS was given at a time of curricular innovation in the Netherlands. By the time of the 1999 TIMSS data collection, students may be more used to hands-on tasks than they are at present. (SLD)

Despite their individual creativity and achievements, many girls confront common obstacles (like sexual harassment) and expectations that limit accomplishments. Nonetheless, girls get better grades than boys, score higher on certain test measures, and attend college in greater numbers. Their resilience and resistance to cultural norms are…

This study documents learning and student performance through objective tests with graduate students in Kingston-Jamaica and compares the final exam results with students taking the same course, the same test, with the same instructor at different sites throughout the United States and in the Nassau cluster, Grand Bahamas. The scores are further…

The purposes of this paper are to analyze some problems in using student test scores to evaluate teachers and to propose an achievement-based model for teacher evaluation that is effective, affordable, fair, legally defensible, and politically acceptable. The system is designed for detecting and documenting poor teacher performance. (Auth/JAZ)

A norm-referenced achievement test, in combination with supplementary items, can be used to produce norm-referenced data as well as objective-referenced data. The experiences of the Palm Beach County (Florida) school district in developing and using such a test are described. (EGS)

The effects of the changing nature of intelligence test items during the follow-up period for compensatory education program evaluations on the judgments about program effectiveness are examined. Data from the Stanford-Binet and from three compensatory education evaluations, are examined. Methods for dealing with differential validity are…