This report describes the midterm and final tests administered to pupils in the Quality Assurance classes using the First Year Communication Skills Program. The tests included both selected and constructed response items and were designed to be individually administered to pupils. The results are reported for each eight outcome subscores (selected…

The concept of progress by examination at Hampshire College is discussed in one of a series of progress reports on the college in its attempt to redefine the nature of liberal arts education. A student's academic progress is measured by examinations rather than by credit hours and grades. The system has been enthusiastically supported by the…

This technical note describes part of the work done to develop student achievement tests in reading and mathematics for use in a later phase of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study. While the achievement battery consists primarily of group-administered multiple-choice test items, several individual-testing studies were conducted to examine the…

A pilot research study searched for appropriate methods to evaluate instructional television (ITV). The specific objectives were to find ways to measure: 1) the degree to which the media presentation's objectives were being met, and 2) the appeal of the show, as judged by viewers' attention. Five intermediate grade level educable mentally retarded…

Active student engagement with course materials, such as note-taking and cooperative learning, is associated with greater performance. This study investigated the relationship between scores achieved by students in an undergraduate course and active engagement during testing, whether using a cheat sheet or engaging in a form of cooperative…

The performance of 131 urban sixth-grade students on the Uses Test of creativity was studied in four environments to determine the effects of testing condition variables and to find optimal testing procedures. Testing condition variables included the giving of grades vs. no grades and individual vs. group administration of the task. The four test…

Variables derived from two measures of classroom behavior, direct observation and teacher rating, were used in regression designs with measured intelligence to predict a measure of academic achievement of 69 kindergarten, first, and second grade children. Results suggest that measures of classroom behavior contribute variance to the prediction of…

The responses of 194 fifth graders to a questionnaire assessing causal attributions, academic expectancies, and self-evaluation of smartness varied as a function of whether the questionnaire was administered individually or in a group. Children expressed lower and less accurate predictions in the individual condition than in the group condition.…

Student test scores are increasingly used to judge the competence of the educational enterprise. Exaggeration of scores is the result of directing attention away from the individual student achievement to the average scores of schools, districts, and states. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (BJV)

The first part of this document presents the results of a survey of early entrance testing procedures in 25 Florida districts and details teacher ratings of 486 first-grade and 154 kindergarten students whose entrance test results had permitted them to enter kindergarten a year earlier than other students with birthdays between October and…

Because of the diversity, range, and combination of disabilities at the Center for Multiple-Handicapped Children, operated under the auspices of the New York City Board of Education, a unique instrument was needed for assessing functional levels, setting goals, and charting progress of handicapped children in special education facilities, regular…