The Background of the Commission on Tests / Richard Pearson and Winton H. Manning.

This paper concerns the projected changes suggested for testing in the future by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). A Commission on Tests is held desirable, the general purpose of which is to describe a comprehensive series of testing activities supporting the large-scale distribution of students among college level institutions in the United States, under conditions in which as much as 80 percent high school graduates and 70 percent of 18-year-olds (and together with significant numbers of adults) will enter college each year. While suggesting preservation of some very important strengths in present testing procedures by CEEB, the Board's testing activities are held inadequate. Guidelines for the future educational setting of college admissions and guidance tests are presented. It is contended that the description of the proposed tests should focus on the general population of young people at four points in their educational careers--in grades seven and eight, in grades ten and eleven, at the end of grade twelve, and in the thirteenth and fourteenth years by age. Review of the theory and practice underlying existing tests and relating these to current knowledge and generally accepted principles in a number of fields (psychometrics, education, linguistics, sociology and anthropology, and cybernetics and computer sciences) is recommended. An initial description of the objectives of future tests is also included. (RJ)

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