Assessing the achievement of students in elementary and secondary schools and the nation's educational progress is fundamental to informing education policy approaches. Congressional interest in this area includes and extends beyond the annual assessments administered by states to comply with the educational accountability requirements of Title…

The definition of test bias--the inventory of the ways in which the term is used--has many widely disparate aspects frequently stemming from entirely different universes of discourse. This article attempts a review of the status of each of these. (Author)

The problem of using a domain-referenced system of achievement tests is discussed as it relates to the design of instruction. Testing problems are discussed from the point of view that the teacher, pupil, and/or automation needs certain kinds of information in order to make instructional decisions that are adaptive to the individual learner. The…

Guidelines are proposed for reviewing career interest tests, aptitude tests, and achievement tests for sex bias in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments 1972. To review the tests, several recommendations are made: analyze the test; review the technical manuals and interpretive information; examine and classify test items, reading…

The paper discusses some problems in using achievement tests with hearing impaired students and offers some general suggestions for school testing programs. (PHR)

Procedures for conducting functional level testing have been available for use by practitioners for some time. However, the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS), developed in response to the educational amendments of 1974 to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), has provided the impetus for widespread adoption of this…

A list of nine recommendations is put forth with regard to standardized achievement tests. Its rationale is based on the need for fair and effective assessment processes that can be used for diagnosing and prescribing for the needs of individual children. (Author/AM)

The factorial structure of the California Achievement Test subtests appears to consist of only one common factor in each grade. This study indicates that there is considerable overlap among the subtests and that there is minimal support for the use of subtest scores as measures of independent constructs. (Author/PN)

Discusses (1) perspectives from which standardized test developers, users, and interpreters must consider test results; (2) test components that affect student test performance; (3) test abuses that contribute to the shortening of tests; and (4) how educators can effect a change in the increased reliance on standardized tests. (HTH)

The widely used Woodcock Johnson (WJ) Test of Achievement has been separated into two distinct tests, Achievement and Cognitive Abilities. This book is designed to help busy mental health professionals acquire the knowledge and skills they need to use the third revision of the WJ Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH) , including administration,…

This article lists psychometric problems encountered when measuring change in achievement by improved test scores as is done in performance contracting. Examined are: regression toward the mean, reliability of gain scores, the nature of grade norms, and test content as representation of educational objectives. (SB)

The traditional use of scores derived from standardized, norm-referenced achievement tests is examined as to its role in a local school system's efforts to monitor itself and to examine how well individual students, schools and the overall system are functioning. Several questions regarding the legitimacy of well-established practices involving…

The uses and misuses of standardized test results used for program evaluation as seen by a staff member of an Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I Technical Assistance Center are described. In ESEA Title I, test scores are used to select students for the program. Although federal requirements do not require using standardized test…

The cautions needed for correctly interpreting grade equivalent scores are presented simply, for persons who are not statisticians. Four potential limitations of grade equivalent scores are summarized. (1) Comparisons across grades are of little value when the subject content is not the same; for example, sixth grade American history is not…

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)