When a child takes a standardized test measuring ability or achievement, the results of that test may well determine the kind of education he is going to get. When school personnel select certain tests, administer them, and assign students to groups according to their scores on these tests, are they doing it in such a way that the end results are…

Describes trends related to declining mathematics and science achievement test scores of graduating high school seniors. Reports that scores of students intending to major in college mathematics and science have been stable over time. Discusses implications for education policy, particularly in science in elementary grades. (CS)

Discusses the growing importance of test collections in academic libraries and provides resources for test collection development. Tests in the following areas are described in detail: academic; achievement and aptitude; child development; educational development and preschool readiness; intelligence; personality; sensory motor skills; special…

Studies examining the important predictors of academic achievement of elementary teacher education students help us to understand the predictors of student achievement. These studies (House, 2000b; Ting & Bryant, 2001; Zheng, Saunders, Shelley, & Whalen, 2002)focus on the relationship between academic achievement and a number of cognitive…

The Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) is a multiple aptitude battery designed to measure junior and senior high school students' and adults' ability to learn or succeed in certain areas. The test is suitable for group administration and is primarily for use in educational and vocational counseling, although it may be used in employee selection. The…

This annual report examines trends in Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) data for Maryland vis-a-vis national trends. Major findings include the following: (1) composite SAT scores for Maryland students trail the national average for the first time since 1982; (2) composite SAT scores of African-Americans in Maryland have consistently trailed those…

Information was solicited through mass mailings to school districts concerning their definitions of gifted and talented, the instruments they use to identify gifted and talented students, and the underserved populations they seek to serve. This report is based on information from 542 files, representing approximately 10% of the mass mailing.…

A meta-analysis was conducted of 137 studies investigating the effects of father absence due to employment, military service, death, divorce, separation, or desertion on children's cognitive performance as assessed by scores on standardized intelligence, scholastic aptitude, and academic achievement tests and school grades. Aggregation of the…

This module is one in a series of four performance-based modules developed to prepare vocational educators to serve limited English proficient (LEP) students. It discusses the intake process and the purpose and importance of assessing LEP students for both English and native language proficiency and vocational interest and aptitude. The module is…

The Halstead/Bentley Public School District in south-central Kansas has a long, successful history of administering a comprehensive evaluation program of achievement, scholastic aptitude, and interest tests and inventories in grades K-12. The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is an…

This text on foreign language testing provides an overview of testing principles, problems, and practices, and examines the multiple roles of the classroom teacher, as well as the construction and scoring of more formal language tests. The following types or foreign language tests are distinguished: achievement or attainment tests, proficiency…

This second series of presentations was designed as a sequel to the first (see related note), which established the foundations for career education relative to adolescents with handicapping conditions, particularly mental handicaps. This series, consisting of five separate papers, begins with the sequence of steps that follow from that base,…

Student market segmentation separates prospective college students into subgroups with similar characteristics, the most commonly used being geography, demography, attitudes, and behavior. Recruitment efforts can then focus on student segments similar to the present student body or on other students that might be attracted. The goal is to make…

Changing patterns in graduate education were addressed at a meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) in the United States. Topics of the conference included: opportunities and change in graduate education, interinstitutional cooperation in graduate programs for professionals, the future of graduate study in the humanities, decision-making…

Empirical studies are reviewed of sex bias and psychometric bias in aptitude and achievement tests. It is concluded that: (1) of four studies of sex bias, all found that the language used in the tests favored males, but, at the elementary-secondary level, sex bias has been decreasing; (2) of 15 analyses of psychometric bias, all found an…