Changes to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) that will be introduced in the 1993-94 academic year are reviewed, with attention to edumetric factors such as relationship of curriculum and instructional practice to test design and the impact of the changes. The new SAT will put increased emphasis on critical reading skills to reflect developments…

A comprehensive review was conducted of writing research literature and writing test program activities in a number of testing programs. The review was limited to writing assessments used for admission in higher education. Programs reviewed included ACT, Inc.'s ACT™ program, the California State Universities and Colleges (CSUC) testing program,…

The e-rater® system has been used by ETS for automated essay scoring since 1999. This paper describes a new version of e-rater (v.2.0) that differs from the previous one (v.1.3) with regard to the feature set and model building approach. The paper describes the new version, compares the new and previous versions in terms of performance, and…

This study has investigated the comparability of computer-based testing (CBT) writing prompts in the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®) for examinees of different native language backgrounds. A total of 81 writing prompts introduced from July 1998 through August 2000 were examined using a three-step logistic regression procedure for…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's (AISD's) 2005-2006 bilingual and English as a second language programs.

The purposes and methods of testing in bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) education are discussed. Different instruments, including specific published tests, are listed and described briefly. They include language proficiency assessments, achievement tests, and assessments in special education. Introductory sections address topics…