Purpose: The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to measure and compare motor proficiency in obese children with Prader-Willi syndrome (OB-PWS) to that in obese children without PWS (OB), and (b) to compare motor proficiency in OB-PWS and OB to normative data. Method: Motor proficiency was measured using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor…

This pilot study compared the phonological awareness skills and vocabulary performance of English monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual children with and without hearing loss. Preschool children with varying degrees of hearing loss (n = 18) and preschool children without hearing loss (n = 19) completed measures of phonological awareness and…

Recent changes to state laws on accountability have prompted school districts to design teacher performance evaluation systems that incorporate student achievement (student growth) as a major component. As a consequence, some states and districts are considering teacher value- added models as part of teacher performance evaluations. Value-added…

Recent changes to state laws on accountability have prompted school districts to design teacher performance evaluation systems that incorporate student achievement (student growth) as a major component. As a consequence, some states and districts are considering teacher value-added models as part of teacher performance evaluations. Value-added…

This article examines the impacts of Arkansas charter schools on the academic achievement of participating students. Our findings are that charter schools have small but statistically significant, negative impacts on student achievements for both math and literacy. Such negative effects, however, tend to decline with the number of years of charter…

Due to the unquestionable roles of technology in language classes, it might be necessary to use computers in assessing language knowledge. This study aimed to examine how computers may be used to assess language ability of [English for Specific Purposes] ESP students. Sixty computer-major university students at Abadan University are the…

Literacy is moving into the digital context. Many of the literacy tasks associated with higher education, the workplace, and civic life now take place in the digital world. Literacy in high school, however, languishes in the text world. This study compared the text literacy of a group of high-achieving 10th-grade students, to their digital…

First year students' academic performance in three Life Science courses (Botany, Zoology and Bioscience) was compared. Pass rates, as well as the means and distributions of final marks were analysed. Of the three components (coursework, practical and theory examinations) contributing to the final mark of each course, students performed best in the…

This study compared a domain referenced approach with a traditional psychometric approach in the construction of a test. Results of the December, 1975 Quarterly Profile Exam (QPE) administered to 400 examinees at a university were the source of data. The 400 item QPE is a five alternative multiple choice test of information a "safe"…

The reliability of a criterion referenced test was defined as a measure of the degree to which the test discriminates between an individual's level of performance and a predetermined criterion level. The variances of observed and true scores were defined as the squared deviation of the score from the criterion. Based on these definitions and the…

This study compared reading readiness profiles of 232 first graders with the reported norms of a decade ago. It is suggested that children are currently entering first grade with greater competencies in understanding language, percieving visual similarities and differences, and comprehending basic number concepts than was the case a decade ago.…

Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced approaches were used to set a minimum passing score for Part II of the pilot National Board Dental Examination. Standards and associated failure rates were found similar for both approaches. This and the advantages of the former approach suggest it is an appropriate method. (Author/MSE)

Scores of high school students responding to the same biology cognitive preference test using both normative and ipsative procedures were compared. All subtests, whether ipsative or normative, had high alpha Cronbach coefficients. A number of similarities were found in the mean scores obtained by the two procedures, as well as moderate positive…

It is unsafe to estimate achievement test norms for fall testing by linear interpolation between norms for the previous spring testing and norms for the following spring. Second grade students were tested in reading and arithmetic in the fall and in the spring to provide pre-test and post-test data for evaluation of academic growth. Three…

The role that measurement error plays in the regression effect is discussed with particular reference to the RMC models for evaluating the effects of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I programs. The norm referenced evaluation model assumes a theory of growth where the relative ranking of students remains the same from pretest to posttest…