A discriminant analysis of the relationships between 335 Florida students' first and second grade scores on the reading subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) and their third grade scores on the Florida Statewide Assessment Test (FSAT) was undertaken, using race, sex, and intelligence as independent variables. Three null hypotheses…

The fundamental Reading Competencies Test assesses proficiency with respect to well-defined functional reading skills of high school students. Validity and reliability data for the test are presented. (Author/JKS)

An investigation of the effect on the difficulty value of an item due to position placement within a test was made. Using a 60-item operational test comprised of 5 subtests, 60 items were placed as experimental items on a number of spiralled test forms in three different positions (first, middle, last) within the subtest composed of like items.…

A survey of 1,021 human resource managers found that 35.5 percent test job applicants, promotion candidates, and/or current employees; 22 percent of applicants and 15 percent of employees tested deficient in basic skills; and only 5 respondents spent more than $10,000 on remedial training. (SK)

In a study concerned with the function of test wiseness in competency testing and with the impact of question stem structure within a reading competency test, 43 fourth grade students and 38 sixth grade students were administered one form each of the experimental material. This material consisted of ten questions presented in the stylized language…

The statistical parallelism of a pair of tests equated by the P-value method was investigated, as well as the relationship between their raw scores and scores transformed by linear equating. Data were obtained from eight sections of the 1980 New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Program; specifically, the reading and mathematics tests for each of grades…

A survey of principals and second- and fifth-grade teachers in 25 Puerto Rican schools reveals that (1) they value and use reading tests; (2) province and district-wide reading assessments primarily affect curriculum decisions; (3) the generally accepted goals of testing programs are being met; and (4) their attitudes are similar to educators…

The modified caution index's use in identifying judges whose patterns of item judgment appear aberrant when compared with the pattern produced by the entire group (N=158) of judges was studied. Effects on test standards and passing rates of removing test standards of these judges were also assessed. (TJH)

A structured Delphi procedure was used to secure the informed judgments of three types of adult participants (n=170) on appropriate standards for the North Carolina High School Competency Tests in Reading and Mathematics. The feasibility of the method and the amount of agreement between groups are discussed. (Author/PN)

The use by 31 reading specialists, compensatory education teachers, and secondary reading teachers of Angoff and Nedelsky methods for setting cutting scores for a high-school graduation test in reading comprehension was studied. The Angoff method provides a wider variety of information and yields estimates closer to actual p values. (TJH)

This report describes a study undertaken to refine the guidelines of the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development and to suggest general procedures for implementing any skill-centered approach to teaching reading. The first part of the report sets forth the purpose and focus of the study, with a literature review to define the nature of…

Although minimum competency testing is increasingly popular, there is presently a paucity of information on teachers' and principals' use of and attitudes toward these testing programs. Therefore, a study examined the use and perceived impact of standardized reading tests in Puerto Rico and compared these results to the results of a similar study…

This study compared the reliability and validity of two different measures of reading ability, the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) Reading test and the ITBS Vocabulary test. The data consisted of scores of 377 grade 5 and grade 6 students on these tests, along with their assigned reading levels in the…

Minimum reading comprehension of prospective teachers and average readability of required undergraduate textbooks are contrasted. The Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) test, which represents student test scores, and textbook readability measurements on the same scale was used. Teacher education program applicants in Kentucky participated. (Author/MLW)

A study was conducted at a Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to determine the relationship between students' level of basic skills at entry and their pass/fail performance on the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). Specifically, the study focused on students' Comparative Guidance and Placement Test (CGP) scores in reading, writing, and…