Major changes in educational and psychological theories that have come about since the cognitive and affective taxonomies of educational objectives were published in 1956 and 1964 are traced. The changes emphasize the need to understand thinking in the context of students' beliefs and self-directed cognitions. (SLD)

Points out areas in which aspects of assessment practice remain resistant to change: (1) evaluation of student achievement; (2) appropriate application of assessment innovation; and (3) preparation of educators in educational assessment. (SLD)

Asserts that publishers of achievement tests are, for the most part, not in a position to obtain on their own any decent evidence about the consequences of uses made of their tests. Reasons why this is so are discussed, and what publishers can be expected to do is outlined. (SLD)

Two achievement testing programs in New York City that have had and are having some consequences are described, and how the school system tries to determine and deal with these consequences is explored. Cooperation and open dialog between test publishers and the school district are making it possible to deal with the real-life problems of test…

The focus is on partitioning the evaluation of the consequences of assessment programs among the sponsors, developers, users, and reviewers of tests. Five parties that share responsibility are discussed: (1) the state legislature, (2) the state board of education, (3) the school district, (4) the test publisher, and (5) the measurement profession.…

This instructional module presented by the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) provides guidelines for teachers and other test developers to help them construct test item banks. Setting up an item bank and using it are described, with a consideration of software that can be used. (SLD)

A strength of this exploration of testing and test use in the United States is the concern for how tests affect student conceptions of learning and student relation to knowledge. A weakness is a persistent confounding of classroom and large-scale assessment for state and national purposes. (SLD)