Assessment programs, which have recently been implemented in colleges around the country, have indirectly affected the quality of education in ways that are both researchable and measurable. Admissions and placement testing affect educational quality by separating high and low achievers, and making it possible for high-level texts to be used and…

Most people seem to think the test will lead to improvement in education. Teachers, however, feel they are being made scapegoats and blacks feel that one crop of eleventh graders is being punished for not being able to make up in one year what they haven't learned in eleven. (Author/IRT)

Learning disabled fifth graders in Florida were given modified versions of the Florida State Student Assessment Test. Modifications such as additional examples, smaller subsections, unjustified formats, and grouping of items in order of difficulty facilitated the students' performance. Use of large-print tests made little difference. (Authors/PP)

Discusses the meaning of intelligence, the social functions that tests serve, the appropriate use of personality tests, controversies regarding IQ measurement, minimum competency testing, test disclosure, test bias, and "truth in testing." Stresses that testing is as much a social and political issue as it is an issue of scientific measurement.…

Cross-section analysis of mean 8th grade NAEP math scores and SAT-I scores found that New York State students (who take Regents exams) were one grade level equivalent ahead than might be expected, given their socioeconomic background, compared to students in other states. Dropout rates were comparable. (Contains 27 references.) (MLH)

A study was designed to assess the effects of the introduction of a state-mandated minimum competency test (MCT) on students' acquisition of basic and high-level mathematics skills. Subjects of the study were ninth-grade students, all of whom attended the same schools in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, and took the same form of the…

A study was conducted to ascertain whether additional focus on test-taking strategies might significantly improve the passing rate of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) students on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). All students who took the summer and fall 1984 administrations of the CLAST were included in the study. Original…

In 1984 an evaluation team examined the Maryland Functional Testing Program (MFTP), a statewide competency-based, criterion-referenced testing program that was instituted to limit awarding of high school diplomas to those students who had earned scores above cut scores on a series of achievement tests. This article examines the procedures the…

This test booklet contains a two and one-half-hour achievement test in Social Studies 30, administered in June 1985. It is used as a twelfth grade diploma examination in Alberta, Canada. The multiple choice section, comprising 70 percent of the total score, contains 70 items. For the essay test, which counts toward 30 percent of the total score,…

This test booklet contains a two and one-half-hour achievement test in Social Studies 30, administered in January 1985. It is used as a twelfth grade diploma examination in Alberta, Canada. The multiple choice section, comprising 70 percent of the total score, contains 70 items. For the essay test, which counts toward 30 percent of the total…

Results are summarized for a number of tests administered to secondary school students in Idaho. A description of each test and the students tested is provided, as well as the purposes of the test and a brief summary of results. Two tests administered especially in Idaho are included. The Idaho Proficiency Test, a criterion referenced test of…

The 1985-86 profiles for the Rochester City School District's (New York) 11 secondary schools and four alternative program schools are tabulated in extensive charts. Information is provided on: (1) special instructional programs; (2) district achievement testing; (3) competency testing; (4) student attainment (percent of students enrolled in ninth…

As a result of using the Rasch model in building item banks in reading and mathematics, we were able to design two new testing programs for our district. The first was a grade level competency-based evaluation program designed to identify our district's low achievement-level students as well as the precompetency goals on which they needed help.…

A study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to provide data on the relationship of cumulative grade point average (GPA) and College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) performance. Because Florida community college students must be eligible for graduation in order to take the CLAST, the study focused mainly on MDCC students with…