Educational Testing Service

“ The educational tests adapted for examinations for the public service would be, in our opinion, of all others the most general in their character, and therefore, those best calculated to direct the efforts of teachers to that course of mental discipline and moral training, the attainment of which constitutes, in our opinion, the chief object of a liberal education. ”

“ A convenient stimulus to the proper sort of review is found in the requirement that pupils prepare an abstract or topical outline of the ground which has been covered, and submit it, preferably from memory, for class criticism and discussion. If the teacher asks questions, she should be very careful to see that they are questions of large scope which demand organization, or still better the application of organized knowledge. This brings us to the problem of testing.
The only adequate test of school education, as of all other [103] education, is action. ”

“ Requirements– Such assessments shall—
(i) in the case of mathematics and reading or language arts, be used in determining the performance of each local educational agency and public school in the State in accordance with the State’s accountability system under paragraph (3) ; (ii) be the same academic assessments used to measure the academic achievement of all public school students in the State; (iii) be aligned with the State’s academic standards and provide coherent and timely information about student attainment of such standards ”

“ Every teacher is required to pass an examination prepared by the commissioner of education as a test of his or her qualifications, and the teacher is responsible to the educational department for the enforcement of the rules and the application of the methods of instruction that have received its indorsement. ”

“ It is required that each applicant present himself for an interview at a time arranged by the Registrar so that the College may evaluate his probable fitness to do engineering college work and subsequently to find employment in the profession. This estimate will be on the basis of physical and emotional fitness and on previous scholastic achievement. In instances where the evidence is not reasonably conclusive, certain tests and examinations may be required. A fee will be charged for this testing service. ”

“ Today I'd like to speak to you about a breakthrough for education, our agreement to move forward with national tests to make sure every schoolchild masters the basics. The best way to give our children the world-class education they need to thrive in the 21st century is by setting high standards of academic achievement. When we fail to encourage our children and expect a lot of them, we in fact encourage them to fail. That's why I've called upon America to join me in raising educational standards and adopting national exams to measure our progress at meeting the standards. ”

“ Entrepreneurs at the age of 14, they do not need the feedback of stupid tests, carried out more for the sake of bureaucracy than for their well-being. Standardized tests dominated by multiple-choice answers facilitate low cost evaluations, but also affect patterns of teaching and learning. Exactly what the new pragmatics embodies-the ability to adapt and to be proactive-is counteracted through the experience of testing, and the teaching geared to multiple-choice instruments. ”

“ More than half—those who mean to devote themselves to trade, agriculture, or industry, and those who have not developed the capabilities necessary to confront the severe final test of the "maturity" examination—leave the school on attaining the upper forms. To those who intend to enter the professions, the civil and military service, and the church, the full course of the secondary school is necessary, the "maturity" examination certificate being the only open sesame to the universities, the special colleges, and the technical high schools. ”

“ There are three or four examinations each year; and the students who fail to obtain a certain high average of examination marks must leave the school, however exemplary their conduct or earnest their study. No leniency can be shown where the educational needs of the State are concerned, and these call for natural ability and a high standard of its proof. ”

“ Examinations in all departments and grades are to subordinate scholastic to practical tests, and to give greater importance to physical conditions and the investigation of character in order to meet the requirements of service, rather than require knowledge of facts. ”

“ Some want to undermine the No Child Left Behind Act by weakening standards and accountability. Yet the results we require are really a matter of common sense: We expect third graders to read and do math at the third grade level -- and that's not asking too much. Testing is the only way to identify and help students who are falling behind. ”

“ The Secretary shall perform, or shall direct a program
approved under subparagraph (C) to perform, onsite proficiency
testing to assure compliance with the requirements of
subsection (d) (5) of this section. The Secretary shall
perform, on an onsite or other basis, proficiency testing to
evaluate the performance of a proficiency testing program
approved under subparagraph (C) and to assure quality
performance by a laboratory. ”

“ An adequate system of inspection will also, for the future, become an essential part of our educational system; and we desire that a sufficient number of qualified inspectors be appointed, who will periodically report upon the state of those colleges and schools which are now supported and managed by Government, as well as of such as will hereafter be brought under Government inspection, by the measures that we propose to adopt. ”

“ Use of academic assessment results to improve student academic achievement.—Each State plan shall describe how the State educational agency will ensure that the results of the State assessments described in paragraph (3) — `` (A) will be promptly provided to local educational agencies, schools, and teachers in a manner that is clear and easy to understand, but not later than before the beginning of the next school year; and `` (B) be used by those local educational agencies, schools, and teachers to improve the educational achievement of individual students. ”

“ As these are compulsory by law, supported by rates and taxes, and administered by the state and public bodies, and, above all, teach mainly the mere rudiments, there may be reasons for an organized system of examination which do not apply to the higher education. Here the examiners are clearly superior in learning to the teachers; the curriculum itself is more or less mechanical and capable of mechanical tests; and a certain uniformity may be inevitable, and a certain standard of efficiency must be tested. ”

“ An annual testing by the teachers, followed by medical inspection of the children found defective, would soon cause all existing defects to be corrected, and would lead to the detection of those which develop during school life. ”

“ If there existed such a thing as a really national education or a trustworthy system of general examination, education might be tested directly. In the absence of these, the nature of a person's occupation is some test. ”

“ This week we learned the good news that our efforts to raise academic standards for our children are beginning to pay off. The National Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP, released State test scores on Thursday that show that our children'sreading scores have risen, with some of the greatest gains in States that once scored below the national average. ”

“ No teacher should be employed, until his qualifications have been put to a rigid test. In the case of public schools, this should be done by public authority; and in private schools, the patrons should select a suitable number of persons, competent to perform this work. ”

“ Examinations are suited in the first instance for the purpose for which they were originally designed in medieval universities—the test of technical and professional capacity; it has never been proposed to abolish qualifying examinations for doctors, pharmaceutical chemists, &c. ; the tests applied are (or should be) direct tests of capacity carried out under conditions as nearly as possible like those of actual practice. If a student can auscultate correctly, or make up a prescription, at an examination, he will in all probability be able to do so in other circumstances. ”

“ While serving on the board he recommended the introduction of a system of examinations designed to test their practical qualifications. This system was introduced in 1853, and has since been continued with benefit to the public service. ”

“ In pursuance of the requirements of section 7 of the civil-service act, competitive tests or examinations shall, as far as practicable and useful, be established to test fitness for promotion in any part of the civil service of the United States which has been or may hereafter be classified under the civil-service act. ”

“ Issues addressed.—Such continuing review shall address— `` (i) whether any authorized assessment is properly administered, produces high quality data that are valid and reliable, is consistent with relevant widely accepted professional assessment standards, and produces data on student achievement that are not otherwise available to the State (other than data comparing participating States to each other and the Nation) ”

“ The principal in the smaller school as well as in the larger must give greater attention to the use of intelligence tests as an aid in classifying the pupils so that they can be better graded according to their ability. No teacher should be required to keep a pupil in her room indefinitely who is not mentally able to do the work or who is a constant disturber. ”

“ To help schools meet the standards and measure their progress, we will lead an effort over the next two years to develop national tests of student achievement in reading and math.
Tonight I issue a challenge to the nation. Every state should adopt high national standards, and by 1999, every state should test every 4th grader in reading and every 8th grader in math to make sure these standards are met.
Raising standards will not be easy, and some of our children will not be able to meet them at first. The point is not to put our children down, but to lift them up. ”

“ The group tests of intelligence have demonstrated their value in educational work to such an extent that, following the lead of Columbia University, a large number of prominent American universities and colleges are employing tests of intellectual ability as at least partial substitutes for the time-honoured college entrance examinations. ”

“ These tests are added proof of the unscientific character of the typical public school on that very technical and administrative side which has been most carefully developed. The graded school was a brilliant invention for its time, but the bases of classification are shown by these new tests to be absurd. Children are now classified, for purposes of education, largely by age and average standing. The tests show that neither category has the slightest relevance for effective learning. We classify things for the purpose of doing something to them. ”

“ Thanks to the actions of this Congress last year, we will soon have, for the very first time, a voluntary national test based on national standards in fourth grade reading and eighth grade math.
Parents have a right to know whether their children are mastering the basics. And every parent already knows the key; good teachers and small classes.
Tonight, I propose the first ever national effort to reduce class size in the early grades. My balanced budget will help to hire a hundred thousand new teachers who have passed the state competency tests. ”

“ And as we give more to our schools we're going to expect more in return by requiring states and local jurisdictions to test every year. How else can we know whether schools are teaching and children are learning? ”

“ Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our theories and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective standards, has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard tests and scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands of children classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group of children of the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to compare the achievement of his children with that which is found elsewhere. ”

“ We may conclude, therefore, that given anything approaching normal educational advantages, the test is really a measure of intelligence. Used with due caution, it is perhaps as valuable as any other test in the scale. It is only necessary, in case of failure, to ascertain the facts regarding the child’s educational opportunities. Even this precaution is superfluous in case the subject tests as low as 8 years by the remainder of the scale. A safe rule is to omit the test from the calculation of mental age if the subject has not attended school the equivalent of two or three years. ”

“ No single magic bullet will improve our schools, but high standards, the voluntary tests to measure them, good teaching, well-run schools with the latest technology, and old-fashioned, safe, orderly environments will make education better. ”

“ They amount to a determination to avoid accountability. Some say we shouldn't pay for test development even though it's being done by an independent body. Some say the test will be misused, even though participation is voluntary and is clearly designed to show how students and schools are doing and to show the way toward improving them. ”