Proposes a system of achievement testing for all U.S. students rather than just those who are college bound. Criticizes present achievement testing as a patchwork system that fails to provide parents with information about how much their children are learning in comparison to others. Provides a sampling of national achievement test questions from…

Finds that the time required to attempt all the test items of each question paper in a four-paper sample was inversely proportional to the percentage of students who attempted all the test items of that paper. Extrapolates results to give guidelines for determining the feasibility of newly-developed exam papers. (WRM)

Background: To the person who stutters, there are other experiences than the somatic ones of stuttered speech. These are experiences of cognition and affect: in other words, experiences of thought and emotion. For several reasons, it is quite difficult to determine and recommend core measures of cognition and affect for clinicians to consider…

The national criteria found in many textbooks were shown to be ineffective in teaching subject and verb concepts. (JH)

Guidelines for test developers and users are provided to insure that construction and selection of test instruments are conducted fairly. In addition to development and selection, issues of interpretation of scores; provision of information to test takers; and prevention of test bias based on race, gender, or ethnicity are addressed. Twenty-one…

A model is described that was developed to train future learning disabilities specialists to select and execute diagnostic prescriptive strategies. A series of flowcharts depict the diagnostic-prescriptive model from point of referral, specifying steps for the process in language and readings. The sequence of tasks illustrate critical decisions…

A new test construction method based on integer linear programming is described. This method selects optimal tests in small amounts of computer time. The new method, called the Cluster-Based Method, assumes that the items in the bank have been grouped according to their item information curves so that items within a group, or cluster, are…

This digest on test uses in counseling discusses the selection, administration, and scoring of tests; the interpretation of test results; and communication of results to clients. It examines such issues in testing as confidentiality, counselor preparation, client involvement in the testing process, computerized testing, and ethics. (NB)

Do choice-type tests (multiple-choice, true-false, etc.) measure the same abilities or traits as free response (essay, recall, completion, etc.) tests? A large number of studies conducted with several different methodologies and spanning a long period of time have addressed this question. In this review, attention will be focused almost…

Two kinds of WISC-R short forms, item reduction and subtest reduction, are reviewed in terms of their ability to meet these criteria of adequacy: a significant correlation between the full scale IQ and the short form IQ, a non-significant difference between the full and short form mean IQ, a low percentage of IQ classification changes resulting…

This paper explores problems of construct validity in the evaluation of the Follow Through Planned Variation program. Comments center around political ramifications of the program evaluation design, insufficient knowledge on the part of program planners, the diversity of the experimental options, and the instability of the sample. It is suggested…

Validity, the most critical of readability formula characteristics, requires that a measuring device actually measure what is intended to be measured. To examine validity, a study was conducted in which ten popular handbooks used in the teaching of college freshman composition were examined for comparative validity data--the extent to which scores…

The major issues encountered by the testing staff of the Austin Independent School District when changing achievement tests were identified. The 1970 California Achievement Tests were replaced by the district with the 1978 Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The major tasks were selection of a new instrument and securing funds to purchase it. However,…

Fifty profiles of published tests of writing proficiency are compiled alphabetically with a thorough guide to indirect assessment of writing skill. The profiles are designed to facilitate a general screening of available test options. The elements included in each profile are as follows: test name, publication date, publisher, administration time,…

For people directly involved with vocational evaluation, rationale and guidelines are presented for developing individual evaluation plans (IEPs) to meet the needs of handicapped clients. Functions served by the IEP are discussed: (1) master plan of the purposes and objectives of an evaluation; (2) written record of the assessment techniques used,…