This document expands upon the discussion of standardized tests in federal legislation and Department of Education rules and regulations, in order to guide practitioners in using these tests and alternative assessment methods more wisely. Amendments of 1988 that address the uses of standardized tests, the federal regulations that implement the…

A recent study of Dade County Public School (DCPS) graduates attending Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) revealed that 64% of those who graduated high school in 1989 had failed one or more of the basic skills sub-tests of the Florida Multiple Assessment Programs and Services test (FL-MAPS). Another study was conducted in 1989 to determine the…

To comply with state law, the results of the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) are reported for the 1989-90 school year. Accomplishments included: (1) administering the readiness test--the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB)--to all first graders; (2) administering criterion-referenced basic skills tests to all students…

The Bilingual Education Evaluation System was developed to help local bilingual education projects overcome evaluation obstacles and design sound, useful evaluations within the constraints of available funding and with responsiveness to current federal legislation and regulations. The evaluation system proposed involves a process component, an…

Schemes for assessing reading achievement with specific tests have been in use since early in this century. The two driving forces behind the testing movement--scientific objectivity and compulsory education--blossomed in the 1920s and 1930s and continued substantially unchanged through most of the 1960s. In the early 1970s, the idea of mastery…

This annual document is a collection of general and statistical information on 251 schools in the Dade County (Florida) Public School system. The document is divided into four sections corresponding to the major geographical areas of the county: North, North Central, South Central, and South. A profile sheet, presented for each individual school…

The National Commission on Testing and Public Policy is conducting a 3-year policy-oriented investigation of the role of tests, especially standardized, norm-referenced tests, in the allocation of educational, training, and employment opportunities in the United States today. This document reports on the first hearing, which focused on the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of modality-based instruction in test taking skills upon young children's performance on standardized reading tests; (2) the effects of five…

This study examined the following predictors of academic success for 4,113 Asian American students and 1,000 White students who enrolled as freshmen on any of the eight University of California campuses during fall 1984: (1) high school grade point average (GPA); (2) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)--verbal score; (3) SAT--mathematical score; (4)…

This paper briefly describes a number of techniques for evaluating students' achievement in mathematics: (1) checklists and rating scales; (2) standardized tests; (3) criterion referenced tests; (4) anecdotal records; (5) student products, including homework and school assignments; (6) teacher-written tests; (7) conferences with students; (8)…

Information about the educational systems of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay that may be helpful to U.S. college admission officers is presented. For each of the four countries, information is provided on: country facts, the educational system, primary and secondary education, higher education, other institutions, placement recommendations,…

Drawn from a 1983 conference that focused on reading in the school, at home, and at work, the papers in this collection deal with reading strategies, assessment, programs, methods, and materials. Topics covered in the 17 papers include the following: (1) focused instruction for reading exposition, (2) repeated reading, (3) teacher interruption…

This first in a series of six learning modules on instructional planning is designed to assist secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers in becoming familiar with the variety of techniques that can be used to determine their students' needs and interests (particularly vocational), and to give practice in using these skills to obtain…

Fourth, seventh, and ninth grade students in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I programs were tested with the reading comprehension subtests of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, at each of two levels: on-level for each respective grade, and an easier out-of-level form. Approximately half of these students were found to be…

The Elementary Language Arts Assistance Program (ELAAP) in the Edmonton Public Schools (Ontario), was established to provide small group tutorial instruction to children who were essentially normal, but who had identified learning handicaps. General questionnaires were sent to principals, resource room teachers, and classroom teachers; resource…