In order to evaluate student learning achievement, several aspects should be considered, such as exercises, examinations, and observations. Traditionally, such an evaluation calculates a final score using a weighted average method after awarding numerical scores, and then determines a grade according to a set of established crisp criteria.…

Assessing a high school's effectiveness is not straightforward. Comparing a school's standardized test scores to those of other schools is one approach to measuring effectiveness, but a major objection to this method is that students' test scores tend to be related to students' "socioeconomic" status--family household income, for…

Semester assessment of college wind band members is an issue that conductors would probably agree falls within their academic freedom. Institutions may award as little as no credit or even a percentage of a credit for ensemble participation, although the time and effort required of the students and their conductor is undoubtedly equivalent to, or…

Criterion-referenced measurement has been hailed as one of the most significant developments in the recent history of educational evaluation. Its presence should be felt in the social studies over the next few years. The first part of the paper illustrates the differences between criterion-referenced and norm-referenced measurement--purpose for…

Provides an overview of the probable role of assessment in the improvement of elementary and secondary education. (Author)

Higher education institutions have difficulty providing stakeholders with reliable, valid information about student achievement. High stakes assessment data are ambiguous in communicating such information. It is important to distinguish criterion-referenced assessment from norm-referenced assessment. This paper proposes a system that goes beyond…

Informal but frequent teacher evaluations of students' academic achievement are not standardized by official prescriptions dictating which reference system is to be used. Three reference norms used when evaluating achievement are: social, criterion-oriented, and individual reference norms. (PN)

Testing in the nation's schools is on the rise. From the classroom quiz to the large-scale standardized test, the pressure for education to be "accountable" has intensified. As children experience this new tide of testing, it is helpful to become more aware of the different types of tests and their purposes. Students in the United States…

A technique that can be used in the evaluation of program effectiveness focuses on differences between schools or programs at the item level rather than at the level of total test score. The technique was used to compare the results of norm and objective-reference mathematics achievement tests administered to Michigan fourth graders. (Author/JAC)

In the 1992-93 school year, in response to a request from the Board of Trustees of the Austin Independent School District (Texas) (AISD), the district's Office of Research and Evaluation conducted a retrospective examination of the 1991-92 AISD programs to determine cost-effectiveness when possible. This report describes the review process.…

This report quantitatively shows the progress of students in the area of general education development at College of DuPage (Illinois). The aims of general education are to promote students' understanding and appreciation of their culture and environment; to develop a system of personal values based on accepted ethics that lead to civic and social…

Those who are charged with the evaluation of an educational program or school or effects of teaching often must consider how well students do on the variety of standardized tests they take in the course of a school year. This overview describes common types of tests students take in large-scale programs. Criterion-referenced tests are tests that…

The research presented in this paper shows that the norm-referenced grades assigned by teachers are significantly related to the students' self concept assessments and mental health status. Data from a sample of 318 fifth grade students of lower, middle, and upper socio-economic classes indicate that some of the influence which norm-referenced…

Three distinctions are usually made between norm- and criterion-referenced measures. They are: (1) their measurement forms, that is, student performance in relation to the performance of other students or with respect to some specific criterion; (2) general or specific kinds of objectives in which the measures are founded; and (3) their modes of…

This policy report focuses on the tensions and dilemmas surrounding one of the most common milestones used for defining and measuring English Learners' (ELs) progress: their redesignation or reclassification from limited to fluent English proficient (FEP). Although reclassification can have important consequences for students and for the education…