The 2014 Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report Card is the Mackinac Center's second effort to measure high school performance. The first high school assessment was published in 2012, followed by the Center's 2013 elementary and middle school report card, which used a similar methodology to evaluate school performance. The…

This article reviews Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS) which are designed to measure behaviors in children between the ages of 2 and 18 that are associated with disorders on the autism spectrum as rated by parents/caregivers and/or teachers. The rating scales include items related to behaviors associated with Autism, Asperger's Disorder, and…

Educational achievement is a very important issue for parents, teachers, and the government. An accurate measurement plays a very important role in evaluating achievement fairly, and, therefore, analysis methods have been developed considerably in recent years. Education based on long-time learning processes forms a fruitful base for item tests,…

The thesis of this paper is that the decision to use one of three approaches to unit-of-analysis in educational research should be based on substantive considerations, not statistical factors. In addition to the commonly used "total analysis" (regression analysis across individuals), the within and between analyses are inherent in the…

Statewide testing programs, such as Utah's, provide a rich source of performance data. This paper builds on the work of Klitgaard (1974) and identifies educational objectives and corresponding measures by which educators can more fully describe the performance of their school system, utilizing statewide testing data. Methodology involved…

In certain situations, grade equivalent scores are the most appropriate statistic available for reporting achievement test data. It is noted that testing practitioners have found that raw scores, normal curve equivalents, stanines, and standard scores are very useful. However, it is best to convert to either grade equivalents or percentiles before…

This article addresses the capacity of high stakes tests to measure the most significant kinds of learning. It begins by examining a set of philosophical arguments pertaining to construct validity and alleged conceptual obstacles to attributing specific knowledge and skills to learners. The arguments invoke philosophical doctrines of holism and…

Proposes that objective-referenced tests replace norm-referenced tests as a vehicle for program evaluation. Describes a methodology, based on latent trait theory, for joining norm-referenced and objective-referenced testing in a customized testing program. (TE)