Item analysis procedures appropriate for domain-referenced classroom testing are described. A conceptual framework within which item statistics can be considered and promising statistics in light of this framework are presented. The sampling fluctuations of the more promising item statistics for sample sizes comparable to the typical classroom…

Although effective and efficient assessment procedures are crucial to the success of organizational training programs, the tests used for both student and program evaluation are often developed by instructional designers (IDS) and subject matter experts (SMEs) with little formal training in test development. This paper summarizes the major…

The Maryland State Department of Education issued a request for proposals to develop a score reporting system for the Maryland Functional Testing Program. RMC Research Corporation conducted a literature review of extant literature and developed a national survey of non-norm-referenced test score reporting practices. This comprehensive analysis of…

This paper proposes that instructional validity (i.e., the extent to which teachers actually teach the skills that are tested) should be part of the test development process. The development of a district-wide ninth-grade math exam for General Mathematics I (GMI) in the Charleston County School District, South Carolina, is used to illustrate how a…

In 1982-83, Riverside Unified School District (California) selected an achievement test to provide both norm- and criterion-referenced (dual objective) data for its achievement testing program. The test selection process was focused around eight evaluation aspects: prescreening of tests, content matching, instructional evaluation, processing…

This study of curriculum-based assessment of the reading ability of four elementary-level students with learning disabilities found that individual-referenced tests are powerful for understanding instructional effects, whereas norm-referenced tests are best suited for determining deployment and allocation of resources. (DB)

The Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST), was developed at Educational Testing Service at the request of the National Teachers Examination Policy Council. The battery of three tests is designed to provide objective, standardized measures of basic proficiency in reading, mathematics, and writing. The steps in the test development process of this…

In 1983 the Maryland State Department of Public Education (MSDE) issued a request for proposals for "The Development of the Score Reporting System for the Maryland Functional Testing Program." The MSDE called for a literature review, a national survey, a statewide survey of user needs and capabilities, an assessment of the state's report…