Validation research for educational achievement tests is often limited to an examination of intended test score interpretations. This article calls for an expansion of validation research in three dimensions. First, validation must attend to actual test use and its consequences, not just score meaning. Second, validation must attend to unintended…

ACT is often asked whether student scores on the ACT[R] test can be used to make "norm-referenced" or "standards-referenced" comparisons. Norm-referenced interpretations compare students to one another, while standards-referenced interpretations measure student performance against predefined content standards. This brief shows…

Attempts to retain the gains that have been made and recapture desirable aspects of the IOA technique that may have been lost over the years. Describes seven major assumptions on which the technique is based. The IOA reveals the relative level of achievement of each of the instructional objectives by individual students as well as by groups of…

Analyzes the uses that can be made from test data and the influences such data can have on communication with communities, in the evaluation of school's effectiveness, and student's placement. (Author/RK)

This study investigates whether item characteristic curves are the same for black students as for white students in the United States. The data analyzed were the answer sheets of 2269 black students and 2285 white students taking the 85-item Verbal Section of the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test. The study of item characteristic curves is…

This manual sets forth comprehension guidelines and procedures for selecting instruments to measure educational growth, achievement, and outcomes. The necessary criteria are presented in a checklist format, permitting local district personnel to evaluate the worth of testing instruments before adoption. A subset of the criteria are defined as…

The views of E. L. Thorndike on the future of measurements of abilities, expressed 25 years ago, are summarized, and the future of measurements of abilities as it appears now is examined. Opportunities for improvement now arise mainly from increasing social concern for effective education. Measurement technology has developed rapidly and cannot…

This report describes the development of the 1969-70 Michigan Educational Assessment measures used in assessing the levels and distribution of educational performance for Michigan's districts, schools, and pupils. The report has four sections. The first section contains a brief description of the 1969-70 assessment program, including a statement…

The decline in scholastic aptitude test ( SAT) scores does not signify that the quality of education is lower. To interpret this decline requires an understanding of the testing process, changing racial and sex mix of the test makers, changing lifestyle of youth, and the increase in the number of students taking the SAT. (Author/AM)

This analysis serves mostly to point towards some possible productive research areas giving priority to areas that are more easily manageable politically. These are more commonly located within the school context. (Author/AM)

Both criterion-referenced and norm-referenced measures are useful tools to the classroom teacher, but each has its specific uses. The criterion-referenced measure is useful when one is interested in whether an individual possesses particular competencies and when there are no quotas as to how many possess that skill. It is particularly useful in…

A standardized achievement testing program was begun in Alum Rock, California in the fall of 1972 as part of an evaluation of an Educational Voucher Demonstration. During each of the first three years of the demonstration both the form of test administration and the particular level of the standardized achievement test that a student is assigned…

Some uses of achievement tests to provide information for school administrators are described. Three systematic programs are described briefly: (1) a computer-based approach to management and planning designed to answer what is to be learned, how is it to be learned, and has it been learned; (2) a problem solving design for accountability that…

Basic test terminology is explained for parents of school children. Terms which are defined include aptitude, achievement, criterion referenced tests, norm referenced tests, and intelligence quotient. Brief discussions of the advantages and limitations of tests are included. Testing is seen as providing valuable information to the school, students…

This Handbook is intended to help educators understand testing, interpret test results, and defend the selection, construction, and use of tests. The Handbook, tailored to the needs of educators, analyzes only tests used by educators. The Handbook contains more than 100 reviews of tests used routinely to make education decisions and assess skills…