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Parts of a recent (1989) Educational Testing Service publication are reprinted here: a report of a comparative survey (by tests) of mathematics and science education among 13‐year‐olds in Canada, Ireland, Korea, Spain, the UK and the USA.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

In 1983, BRS of Latham, New York introduced two databases entirely devoted to information on tests. The new databases are the Educational Testing Service Test Collection (search label ETSF) and the Mental Measurements Yearbook (search label MM‐YD). BRS is at present the only vendor for both databases. The ETSF file is produced by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ and is based on their collection. The database has over 5,000 test records with newly acquired instruments added through quarterly updates. Tests included measure or assess achievement, aptitude, attitudes, interests, personality, sensory‐motor skills, special populations, and vocational/occupational areas. Both commercially available tests and unpublished research instruments are included. Foreign language versions of tests are also included. The searchable paragraphs are accession number, title, author, year, decriptors, identifiers, grade level, target audience, notes, abstract, availability, resource type, update code, and subtests. A unique feature of this database is the ability to search within a test for subtests that assess specific skills or factors.

Requests for tests and measuring instruments for use in class assignments and faculty and student research are both familiar and frustrating to most academic librarians. In typical scenarios, an education student wants to measure aggression in children or a nursing student needs a test for patient mobility. Even the faculty member who may know the name of a scale may not know its author or how to obtain a copy. All are looking for a measure applicable to a specific situation and each has come to the library in hopes of walking away with a copy of the measure that day. Those familiar with measurement literature know that accessing measures can be time consuming, circuitous, and sometimes impossible. The standard test reference books, such as the Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print (both of which are published by the Buros Institute, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska), are of limited use. These books typically do not include actual instruments or noncommercial tests from the journal and report literature. While these standard reference books are essential to a test literature collection, sole use of them would mean bypassing large numbers of instruments developed and published only in articles, reports, papers, and dissertations. Sources are available to locate additional measurements, tests, and instruments, but they are widely dispersed in the print and electronic literature.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

The paper introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

The findings provide information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to show how information and communications technology (ICT) literacy skills reflect twenty‐first century requirements for researching and communicating information in digital environments. An interactive problem‐based, scenario‐based, web‐based assessment tool, iSkills^TM, has been developed through a broad‐based effort to establish standards for performance and certification of ICT literacy proficiencies. This paper aims to discuss the assessment's potential in determining the effectiveness of instruction programs.

Since January 2001, a consortium of experts in ICT literacy served as advisors to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) test developers as they designed an internet‐delivered assessment that measures students' abilities to research, organize, and communicate information using technology. This paper reviews that R&D process, concluding with an example of its application to information literacy program planning and evaluation. A mixed methods approach collected and analyzed qualitative sources and iSkills^TM pre‐test/post‐test data for first‐year Purdue University students.

Findings informed curricular decisions for instituting an integrated problem‐based learning (PBL) information literacy program. Secondary goals included developing an understanding of how information‐processing skills are acquired, identifying best practices for integrating information literacy into the curriculum, and assessing the impact of skill acquisition on overall academic achievement. ICT literate students are generally better problem‐solvers, more self‐directed, and communicate ideas more efficiently.

Universities are beginning to require ICT literacy as competencies for graduation. This paper presents a new strategy for assessing the effectiveness of instructional programs which aim to matriculate proficient students.

This paper reports on the efficacy of a problem‐based learning (PBL) approach involving three convergent principles of design: the organization and dissemination of information, the creation and communication of information, and problem solving within the context of research projects and assignments. As such, it provides important insights into pairing an innovative instructional approach and the iSkills^TM ICT literacy assessment.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and demonstrate an evidence‐based scenario design framework for assessment‐based computer games.

The evidence‐based scenario design framework is presented and demonstrated by using BELLA, a new assessment‐based gaming environment aimed at supporting student learning of vocabulary and math. BELLA integrates assessment and learning into an interactive gaming system that includes written conversations, math activities, oral and written feedback in both English and Spanish, and a visible psychometric model that is used to adaptively select activities as well as feedback levels. This paper also reports on a usability study carried out in a public middle school in New York City.

The evidence‐based, scenario design framework proves to be instrumental in helping combine game and assessment requirements. BELLA demonstrates how advances in artificial intelligence in education, cognitive science, educational measurement, and video games can be harnessed and integrated into valid instructional tools for the classroom.

This paper provides initial evidence of the potential of these kinds of assessment‐based gaming tools to enhance teaching and learning. Future work involves exploring student learning effects in randomized controlled studies and comparing the internal assessment models to more traditional assessment instruments.

BELLA is the first step toward achieving engaging, assessment‐based, gaming environments for a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)‐related areas with explicit support for English language learners.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

The paper identifies and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material, in the area of library instruction and information literacy.

The paper provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information in the paper may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the public policy reshaping the assessment terrain for English learners (ELs) across the USA and to consider the implications and impact of these practices on sustaining and supporting a diverse student population in today’s schools.

The authors review the literature and publicly available policy documents to trace key policy trends over the past 15 years that have shaped the current educational landscape and assessment practices for ELs in the USA.

In the USA, the 2015 Common Core State Standards (CCSSs) assessments generated worrisome results for ELs, as significant numbers had failing scores in English language arts and math. These results are juxtaposed to public policies that impact the educational experience of ELs, including No Child Left Behind and the CCSS, and which, despite their stated intentions to ameliorate the achievement gap, are found to be assimilationist in nature. Indeed, a review of the initiatives of developing common EL standards and English language proficiency tests and the recommendations for EL accommodations in state tests suggests several areas of concern. The recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act focuses on this vulnerable population, but there are concerns that the continued focus on accountability and testing will do little to facilitate academic progress for these students.

The paper recommends a need to reevaluate the support and testing process for ELs to stem widespread failure and ascertain the sustenance of democratic and diversified schools.

The study provides an overview of key policy trends, outlines and critiques recent changes in the assessment of ELs and draws implications for practice.

The decade of the 1980s was unique for the sheer quantity of education reform reports and legislation. Virtually every state enacted education reform legislation, including reforms of teacher education, licensing, and comprehension. According to Darling‐Hammond and Berry, over 1,000 pieces of legislation related to teachers have been drafted since 1980, and “a substantial fraction have been implemented.” As I discussed in my 1989 RSR article, “Five Years after A Nation at Risk: An Annotated Bibliography,” two waves of 1980s reform reports were identified in the enormous body of primary and secondary literature dealing with education reform. The reform publications of the early 1980s stressed improvements in curricular standards, student performance outcomes, and changes to the education programs, such as salary increases, teacher testing, and stricter certification requirements. The second‐wave reform publications emphasized more complex issues centered around the concepts of restructuring the schools and teacher education programs, as well as empowering teachers to become more involved in curriculum and governance issues.