The Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST), was developed at Educational Testing Service at the request of the National Teachers Examination Policy Council. The battery of three tests is designed to provide objective, standardized measures of basic proficiency in reading, mathematics, and writing. The steps in the test development process of this…

Intended to assist instructors who wish to conduct a training course for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) serving as dispatchers, this document contains detailed lesson plans organized to structure course presentations. Each lesson plan includes the following elements: unit objectives; suggestions for adapting the lessons to local policies and…

This fourth in a series of six learning modules on instructional planning is designed to help secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers develop skills necessary to write a lesson plan and ability to use a lesson plan form effectively. Introductory sections relate the competency dealt with in this module to others in the program and list both…

Latent trait theory supposes that, in testing situations, examinee performance on a test can be predicted (or explained) by defining examinee characteristics, referred to as traits, estimating scores for examinees on these traits and using the scores to predict or explain test performance (Lord and Novick, 1968). In view of the breakthroughs in…

This paper describes the response of the Chicago school district to an Illinois State board of education directive that local school districts have an ongoing program of assessing student achievement and educational programs. The minimum competency testing program in place before the directive is discussed. The testing program and the nongraded…

Components of the Proficiency Testing System (PTS) designed for the Central Valley School District, Washington, are described. Components are: (1) progress assessment, consisting of norm referenced tests, writing samples, diagnostic tests, and ability checklists; (2) user assistance, including an objectives manual, inservice workshop, and a…

This self-instructional, self-paced module is the third of five in the series, Competency Based Education Inservice for Part Time Community College Occupational Education Teachers. (See note for other modules.) Its purpose is to enable the teacher to write objective-referenced test items and to use them to help assess students' abilities. Contents…

The first volume of this three-volume report is a technical report and is intended to describe: the process used to evaluate the 3 on 2 Program; the data collection methods and the analysis procedures undertaken; and the results of the data analysis. This volume presents specific findings and analyses, whereas the evaluative conclusions are…

This training manual for a secondary-postsecondary level course in light frame construction II is one of a number of military-developed curriculum packages selected for adaptation to vocational instruction and curriculum development in a civilian setting. Purpose stated for the fifty-five hour course is for students to interpret construction…

Results of the fifth year of testing by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction are presented. In 1980, objective-referenced tests in mathematics and reading were given to a sample of Wisconsin's public school students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Students were also given the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) in mathematics, reading,…

This manual contains instructional materials for use in training millwrights working in industrial and commercial construction sites. Intended as an innovative complement to on-the-job training in construction, the material is written in terms of student performance using behavioral objectives and measured by criterion-referenced evaluation…

This collection of cognitive and affective objectives, and related measurement instruments, concerns knowledge of and attitudes toward prescription drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs. It describes procedures used in developing, field testing, administering, and scoring the tests. Objectives are listed by grade range: secondary (grades…

This collection of fifty objectives, related sample items, and directions for administering and scoring, is divided into three sections. The first, growth and development, deals with basic factual information relating to sex education; both animal and human biology are included. The second section, social and emotional growth, deals with the…

Performance-based teacher certification in Georgia is centered on: criterion-referenced tests, and on-the-job assessment procedures for student teachers and beginning teachers. A state-funded contract was awarded to develop teacher certification tests, resulting in a 250-item pool and 15 criterion-referenced tests for 32 teaching fields. Cutting…

The problems associated with standardized testing are illustrated in this collection of articles. Alternatives to current practices and strategies for change are suggested. The contributors discuss the roles and responsibilities of groups concerned with student evaluation systems, the testing of minority group and non-English-speaking students,…