This study was organized for the purpose of determining the validity of any part or parts of a pre-selected battery of standardized tests as predictors of success in secondary school trade programs. The study was limited to the trade areas of machine shop and electrical wiring in 14 state vocational schools in Connecticut. A battery of…

In order to assess the feasibility of alternative methods for determining the cognitive development of bilingual or non-English speaking children from a disparate cultural background, 28 Seminole Indian children from two Head Start centers were administered a series of intelligence tests, some based on verbal ability, some not. The tests used were…

A procedure for in-depth analysis of a limited number of tests being considered for selection by a school, district, project, or state personnel is described. This procedure involves listing the objectives that it would be desirable to measure determining the relative importance of each of these objectives, having "judges" match test items to…

This article examines 10 critical factors to be considered in selecting a well constructed standardized tests. The 10 factors may serve as model selection criteria for educational practitioners who are responsible for selecting tests for Black students. (Author/DOW)

Suggests criteria to be used in the selection of a standardized test. Analyzes 12 standardized middle school science tests according to the percentage of questions in each of Bloom's categories. (CP)

Covert assessment strategies not usually reported in psychological testing are described and their implications for educational diagnosticians, school psychologists, and clinical psychologists are discussed. Covert assessment is a procedure which does not violate standardized testing procedures, but rather complements and enhances the assessment…

Explores the history of testing, motivations for testing, testing procedures, and the inevitable limitations of testing. Argues that writing program faculty and administrators must clarify and profess their values, decide what they want students to know and what sort of thinkers they should be, and develop tests reflecting those needs. (SR)

Writing is central to learning and to evaluation of student progress. Holistically scored writing samples, portfolios, and evaluative grids provide effective assessments of writing proficiency and show students that writing is an essential communication skill. Writing assignments also can be used to evaluate learning in a discipline. (Author)

Defends the use of multiple-choice language tests against Pickering's criticism in a previous issue of this journal. (CHK)

Materials, to be effective, must be adapted to the learning potential, experience, and social backgrounds of students. Since all commercially produced materials are not satisfactory, the author offers some guiding principles that should be used when making selections. (RB)

The advantages of using psychometric thoery to design short forms of intelligence tests are demonstrated by comparing such usage to a systematic random procedure that has previously been used. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised (WISC-R) Short Form is presented as an example. (JKS)

The development of a model for more effective usage of group administered standardized tests is developed. A method is illustrated which uses item groupings from subtests allowing a more effective use of the data for program and curricular decisions. (Author)

Described is how tests that accompany texts can be effective if items selected relate to topics stressed in class. Identified are problems commonly found in these types of tests and directions on how to improve problem questions. (KR)

Key issues in the selection and interpretation of listening tests include: the definition of listening capacity; the test developer's method for measuring listening capacity, through rote recall, following directions, informal reading inventory, etc.; and the impact of internal test components such as test structure, question content, and clarity…

This paper reviews basic social validity assessment techniques, discusses the constructs underlying direct magnitude estimation (DME), illustrates the use of DME for performing social validity evaluations of spontaneous language samples (with 3 brain-injured children, ages 10-15, and 3 controls), and discusses the relationship between subjective…