This guide is designed to assist States, agencies, and/or facilities who work with youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk (N or D). The information in the guide will benefit those who are (a) interested in implementing pre-posttests, (b) in the process of identifying an appropriate pre-posttest, or (c) ready to evaluate current testing…

Global achievement tests are best used for broad purposes (program evaluation) or purposes such as screening which will be followed up with more precise instruments. (SB)

Achievement and intelligence tests have been criticized for their adverse effects on the mental health and intellectual development of children. The fault is not with the testing, but with the instructional program. Reforms in testing must be accomplished as part of a revolution in the total instructional program encompassing: (1) a shift from a…

Use of the Rasch model for vertical equating of tests is discussed. Although use of the model is promising, empirical results raise questions about the adequacy of the Rasch model. Latent trait models with more parameters may be necessary. (JKS)

Brief guidelines for the selection of norm referenced tests are offered. Four considerations in selecting an appropriate test are: (1) appropriateness of test content; (2) appropriateness of the norm group; (3) test reliability; and (4) ease of administration. (MH)

It is suggested that funders revise the manner in which accountability is determined regarding both program superiority and the way in which special school programs are evaluated. In any alternative mode of showing accountability, preoccupation with dollars and amount learned should not take precedence over humaneness in the classroom. (Author)

The testing manual for middle and secondary schools of the School City of Gary is provided. The manual is divided into five parts: (1) rationale of the citywide testing program--selection and classification decisions, evaluation of treatments and verification of hypotheses, selection of tests, and general testing principles; (2) preparation for…

Students at two age levels were given paper and pencil mathematics tests as well as individually administered practical tests. Test development and administration are discussed, and some results of the experiment are presented. (SD)

Biased tests systematically favor some groups over others as a result of factors not part of what the test is said to measure. Bias is basically a problem of differential validity. Validity can be discussed in terms of either the procedures for establishing it or test use. Both ways clarify bias in any test. For content and construct validity, the…

This booklet describes an alternative approach to testing the mathematical abilities of elementary school students. The booklet is highly critical of the use of standardized tests for many purposes, and both the introduction and an appendix are devoted to those criticisms. This project for Tests of Reasonable Quantitative Understanding of the…

The primary purpose of this leaflet is to assist the teacher of English in building good achievement tests, with special attention to planning and construction. Subjects covered are general considerations for planning a test, making a blueprint for the test, basic characteristics of effective tests and test questions, selecting the proper test…

It is required by Michigan Public Act 294 that local school districts having an enrollment of 20 or more students of limited English-speaking ability establish and operate bilingual instruction programs, and that the State Board of Education approve a testing mechanism suitable for evaluating the proficiency in English language skills of students…

Articles in this series on testing and evaluation specifically address the use of tests to assess and improve educational status; achievement test selection; and trend toward increased use of coaching materials to improve test performance. Professional literature on educational measurement is reviewed. (MBR)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of low difficulty and high difficulty testing approaches on the informational achievement of two groups of college students enrolled in a power mechanics course. Fifty students were assigned to two groups by a modified random technique, and treatments were randomly assigned to these groups.…