216 SAMUEL MESSICK AND ANN JUNGEBLUT would appear to be a secondary school program that integrates the development of thought with the development of knowledge. References Alderman, D. L., & Powers, D. E. The effects of special preparation on SAT-verbal scores. American Educational Research Journal, 1980, 17, 239-253. (Also, CB RDR 78-79, No. 4, and ETS RR 79-1, Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1979.) Anastasi, A. Abilities and the measurement of achievement. In W. B. Schrader (Ed.). New directions for testing and measurement-Measuring achievement: Progress over a decade. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980. Bryk, A. S., & Weisberg, H. I. Use of the nonequivalent control group design when subjects are growing. Psychological Bulletin, 1977, 84, 950-962. Cochran, W. G. The use of covariance in observational studies. Applied Statistics, 1968, 17, 270–275. Coffman, W. E., & Parry, M. E. Effects of an accelerated reading course on SAT-V scores. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 1967, 46, 292 296. Dear, R. E. The effect of a program of intensive coaching on SAT scores (ETS RB 58-5). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1958. (Reported in French, J. W., & Dear, R. E. Effect of coaching on an aptitude test. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1959, 19, 319-330.) Dyer, H. S. Does coaching help? College Board Review, 1953, 19, 331-335. (Reported in French, J. W., & Dear, R. E. Effect of coaching on an aptitude test. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1959, 19, 319-330.) Evans, F. R., & Pike, L. W. The effects of instruction for three mathematics item formats. Journal of Educational Measurement, 1973, 10, 257-272. Federal Trade Commission. Boston Regional Office. Staff memorandum of the Boston Regional Office of the Federal Trade Commission: The effects of coaching on standardized admission examinations. Boston, Mass.: Author, September 1978. Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection. Effects of coaching on standardized admission examinations: Revised statistical analyses of data gathered by Boston Regional Office of the Federal Trade Commission. Washington, D.C.: Author, March 1979. Frankel, E. Effects of growth, practice, and coaching on Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 1960, 38, 713-719. French, J. W. The coachability of the SAT in public schools (ETS RB 55-26). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1955. (Reported in French, J. W., & Dear, R. E. Effect of coaching on an aptitude test. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1959, 19, 319-330.) Marron, J. E. Preparatory school test preparation: Special test preparation, its effect on College Board scores and the relationship of affected scores to subsequent college performance. West Point, N.Y: Research Division, Office of the Director of Admissions and Registrar, United States Military Academy, 1965. Messick, S. The effectiveness of coaching for the SAT Review and reanalysis of research from the fifties to the FTC (ETS RR 80-8). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1980. National Education Association. Measurement and testing: An NEA perspective. Washington. D.C.: Author, 1980. Pallone, N. J. Effects of short-term and long-term developmental reading courses upon S.A.T. verbal scores. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 1961, 39, 654-657. Pike, L. W. Short-term instruction, testwiseness, and the Scholastic Aptitude Test: A literature review with research recommendations (CB RDR 77-78, No. 2, and ETS RB 78-2). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1978. Pike, L. W., & Evans, F. R. The effects of special instruction for three kinds of mathematics aptitude items (CB RDR 71-72, No. 7, and ETS RB 72-19). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1972. Roberts, S. O., & Oppenheim, D. B. The effect of spe cial instruction upon test performance of high school students in Tennessee (CB RDR 66-7, No. 1, and ETS RB 66-36). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1966. Rock, D. A. Disentangling coaching effects and differential growth in the FTC commercial coaching study (ETS RR 80-11). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1980. Slack, W. V., & Porter, D. The Scholastic Aptitude Test: A critical appraisal. Harvard Educational Review, 1980, 50, 154–175. Snow, R. E. Aptitude and achievement. In W. B. Schrader (Ed.), New directions for testing and measurement Measuring achievement: Progress over a decade. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980. Stroud, T. W. F. Reanalysis of the Federal Trade Commission study of commercial coaching for the SAT (ETS RR 80-10). Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1980. Whitla, D. K. Effect of tutoring on Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 1962, 41, 32-37. Received October 8, 1980 At this time, the Association is not in favor of federal legislation to regulate the testing industry. There is still no evidence that such legislation is needed. The Association feels that the results of the National Academy of Sciences study on standardized testing, soon to be released, should be carefully assessed by the subcommittee prior to recommending enactment of federal legislation. The Association believes that much more evidence favoring the need for federal regulation of the testing industry should be compiled than the subcommittee has already included in the hearings record. Recent testimony presented to the subcommittee reinforces the view that the threat of possible regulation has already impacted on the testing industry and currently, disclosure of test information to students and parents is already occurring on a voluntary basis. Educational Testing Service (the giant in the field) has reversed itself and is complying with provisions of the legislation on its own initiatives. The law school association has set a full-disclosure policy for the LSAT's, etc. In addition to the voluntary actions taken by some of the majors in the business, the climate in Congress and the Executive Branch of the federal government is clearly antiregulatory. In short, it is our view that the real or remote possibility of federal regulation has already produced reforms in the testing industry of a substantive nature, to the point that enactment of a Truth-in-Testing law now seems redundant. The absence of scheduled FTC witnesses on the second day (November 5) of the recent hearings was probably not inadvertant. Washington Office • Suite 1006 · 1101 17th Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 · (202) 833-3024 The Dental Hygiene Aptitude Test is the only currently available instrument that is specifically designed for applicants seeking admission to dental hygiene schools. This test provides information to the applicant on his or her standing compared to others with comparable education. Evidence shows that this type of information is useful to admissions officers. If this proposed legislation is enacted, the Dental Hygiene Aptitude Test would be adversely affected, since the cost of developing new examinations each year would be prohibitive and diminish its desirability to institutions and to prospective dental hygiene students. To preverse the integrity of the test, at least three test forms would have to be developed annually. Costs would triple in order to: maintain a suitable size item pool, cover costs for extra printing, ship additional test booklets and construct new subtests. These costs, of course, would have to be passed along to the consumer; i.e., high school graduates applying for admission to dental hygiene schools. The DHAT scores are not the only criteria used by institutions in admissions screening. Personal interviews, grade point average, other test scores, and life experiences are also part of the selection process. The DHAT can offer an applicant who has long been out of school information on the likelihood of academic success; it can also identify individuals who may require scholastic remediation. It is obvious that the DHAT can be a useful admissions tool. The Association believes that any legislation at this point would be detrimental to the DHAT and to the colleges that use this instrument as an initial screening device. The gain in predicting academic success, as compared to selection of students at random, is large enough to warrant its use. At this point, the Association believes that the pro-regulation side of the debate has failed to make a convincing case for regulating an industry which maintains the highest standards of professional integrity in the public interest. CC: Sincerley, Kathleen D. Smith Kathleen D. Smith, RDH, MS Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Education It would be appreciated if the enclosed letter were forwarded to the committee that is considering "truth in testing" legislation. JB: do Enclosure Yours truly, for Barr Joe Baer Director of Guidance The Guidance Department at South Milwaukee Senior High School is Another disturbing trend in the College Board program is the ten- We have always supported the College Board and its testing program |