Examines the Test of Language Development-Primary (TOLD-P), an individual test of English language proficiency which has four principal uses: to identify problems in language proficiency: to determine strengths and weaknesses in language skills: to document progress provided by programs; and to serve as a device for research.(NH)

Reports that parents of third-grade students had clear responses to various styles of reporting standardized reading test scores and preferred one that indicated how the child had improved over past performance and that showed the toughest item the child could handle on the test. (FL)

Summarizes key findings from five studies investigating how features of test questions (question format, testing condition, and question type) affect reading comprehension assessment outcomes. Discusses implications for assessment design and instructional practice. (MM)

Describes computer software, including "The Electronic Bookshelf" and "Return to Reading," which provides motivation for recreational reading in various ways, including: quizzes, games based on books, and whole language activities for children's literature and young adult fiction. (MM)

Notes the problem that comprehension questions that claim to assess students' skills in finding main ideas may in fact be measuring their knowledge of identifying the topic of a passage. (JC)

Argues that giving students a reading test that is above or below their levels of achievement will yield inaccurate information. (FL)

This study, using the Visual Pattern Recognition Test for Prereading Skills, found that beginning readers improve in word recognition if they are given training in identifying essential components of letters. (HOD)

Describes how one small school district developed performance objectives and wrote their own criterion-referenced reading tests to evaluate kindergarten and first grade children in a reading program supplimentally funded by the state. (TO)

Concludes that the instrument reviewed is a carefully designed test incorporating a new interpretation of standardization and improved definitions of traditional reading levels. (FL)

Notes that classroom assessment of literacy is dominated by methods more appropriate to external mandates. Suggests an alternative method grounded in the teacher's professional judgment and in the relations between curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (FL)

Points out that children's growth in response to literature is not assessed by existing standardized tests or by progress from one textbook to another. Suggests guidelines for teacher observation of children's responses and provides a checklist for assessing oral and written reactions. (FL)

Points out that sound assessment programs should (1) be a part of instruction, (2) use varied methods and instruments, (3) focus on a broad range of skills and knowledge, (4) occur continuously, (5) occur in a variety of contexts, and (6) be appropriate for age and level of development. Offers examples of practices based on these points. (FL)

Some basic facts about test construction and uses and abuses of standardized measures. (Author)