This article proposes that sampling design effects have potentially huge unrecognized impacts on the results reported by large-scale district and state assessments in the United States. When design effects are unrecognized and unaccounted for they lead to underestimating the sampling error in item and test statistics. Underestimating the sampling…

In large-scale assessments, such as state-wide testing programs, national sample-based assessments, and international comparative studies, there are many steps involved in the measurement and reporting of student achievement. There are always sources of inaccuracies in each of the steps. It is of interest to identify the source and magnitude of…

Fifth-grade students (n=154) were given the Group Embedded Figures Test. Distribution characteristics and sex differences were examined. Earlier norms developed for adult samples are substantially different from those of a sample of children. The norms presented here provide a guide for identification of field dependence in children. (Author)