To explain the discrepancy between median scores on the 1976 administration of the California Achievement Tests (CAT) and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP) in the Austin Independent School District (AISD), ten technical variables typical of achievement tests were considered as explanations. (1) The STEP may measure different…

To alleviate the possibility that Florida's College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is biased against non-native English speakers because of its time limits, additional time was allowed for some samples. CLAST, designed to measure communicative and computational competence in college sophomores, has four subtests: reading, writing, computation,…

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has had a competency-based vocational instructor approval process for more than two and one-half decades. Perhaps the most important element in this process has been the vocational competency testing. Although some say that Massachusetts is out of step, others feel that Massachusetts has a well-established testing…

This policy paper outlines the impact that recent Title I legislation, which requires states to hold all students to the "same expectations," will have on state and local district evaluation plans, especially as regards students with disabilities. It notes the conflict between two educational goals: that of full inclusion of students…

This paper describes the characteristics of the Minimum Skills Diagnostic Tests (MSDTs) components of the statewide testing program in North Carolina. The MSDTs' validity, method for deriving test scores, reliability and other statistics, test content, and test norms are discussed. These tests--given in grades 3, 6, and 8--assess an individual's…

The evaluation of the content validity of the Functional Academic Skills Tests (FAST) are described. The FAST was designed to assess the competency of inservice teachers in the Houston, Texas Independent School District in basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills. Validation standards were based on the Equal Employment Opportunity…

This article analyzes potential problems in using standardized achievement tests in early childhood education settings. The first problem discussed is whether the outcomes typically measured by standardized achievement tests are the outcomes about which early childhood educators are most concerned. Second, it is argued that a concern for test…

To permit local districts to exercise their option to use standardized tests for state-mandated evaluations, a test rating form was developed. A key concern was the percentage of state approved reading and mathematics skills measured by a test, rather than the test's value for other uses. Other content concerns were readability and cultural and…

The College Outcome Measures Project (COMP) was organized to design, develop, validate, and disseminate assessment instruments and procedures to measure and evaluate the knowledge and skills that undergraduate students are expected to acquire as a result of general or liberal education programs, as well as those important to effective functioning…

This paper compares descriptive information based on analyses of the pilot and live administrations of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). The AHSGE, a product of decisions made in 1977 and 1984 by the Alabama State Board of Education, is composed of subject tests in reading, mathematics, and language. The pass score for each…

This resource document represents the integration of both practice and theory related to minimum competency testing (MCT), and is largely based on information collected in a nationwide survey of MCT programs. Chapter 1, To Implement or Not to Implement MCT, by Marcy R. Perkins, presents a definition of MCT and a discussion of the perceived…

After studying the testing and remedial programs used in Florida's public schools, the Task Force on Educational Assessment Programs presented its findings and recommendations. Findings are reported regarding: the schedule for implementing the testing program (which requires that students pass the Functional Literacy Test before they may graduate…

Several tests available from the Educational Testing Service (Princeton, New Jersey) have been used or are candidates for use by the Tennessee State Department of Education as initial public school personnel licensure endorsement area tests. The first of the two reports contained in this document (i.e., the Executive Report) describes a study of…

This paper presents the legal rationale for using the National Teacher's Examination (NTE) validation procedure, which was used in Arkansas to determine cut-off scores for teacher certification. A review is given of the decision, by the United States Supreme Court, upholding use of the NTE by South Carolina in that state's teacher certification…

Memphis State University conducted a study for the Tennessee Department of Education to determine the validity of 11 previously unvalidated, extensively revised, or new Educational Testing Service (ETS) tests as measures of the skills and knowledge required for specific initial certification endorsements of public school personnel in Tennessee.…