This digest introduces ways of responding to the call for criterion-referenced information using Bayes' Theorem, a method that was coupled with criterion-referenced testing in the early 1970s (see R. Hambleton and M. Novick, 1973). To illustrate Bayes' Theorem, an example is given in which the goal is to classify an examinee as being a master or…

Criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) are constructed to permit the interpretation of examinee tests performance in relation to a set of well-defined competencies. CRTs are currently used extensively in schools, industry, and the armed services because they provide valuable and different information from norm-referenced tests. Test publishers, school…

The "Super Search Reprint" contains a background paper and 152 abstracts on the topic of curriculum-based assessment and curriculum-based measurement. A paper by Mark Shinn and others, titled "Curriculum-Based Assessment: A Comparison of Models" ("School Psychology Review," 1989, volume 18, number 3), presents four…

An urban school district affected by testing in the effective schools context is described in order to provide examples of the effects of testing on teaching and the curriculum. The report describes the method of operationalizing the effective schools research using test information. An important catalyst to improving the instructional program was…

This guide provides assistance to state and local vocational-technical educators in the development of curriculum that is based on national and state skill standards that use workplace-derived measures of competent performance to prepare students for the work world. The guide begins with guidelines for determining the usefulness of existing…

Tests can be categorized into two major groups: norm-referenced tests (NRTs) and criterion-referenced tests (CRTs). NRTs are designed to highlight achievement differences between and among students to produce a dependable rank order of students across a continuum of achievement from high achievers to low achievers. With NRTs, a representative…

Standardized testing of American students provides comparative scores for the placement of individual students, enables students to make appropriate decisions regarding a future course of study, and offers the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of teachers, schools, and school districts. As a result of using standardized test scores for…

Studies on the criterion validity of student evaluation-of-instruction instruments are analyzed, and recommendations are offered for future research into student evaluation of instruction. The main problem, and probably the reason for the lack of validity studies, is that it is difficult to agree on what the criteria of effective teaching should…

The migrant lifestyle, in which a student moves to a new school nearly three times per year, destroys the continuity of educational programs and contributes to abnormally high dropout rates. Educational testing can help improve educational continuity for migrant students by yielding valuable information about their levels of skills mastery so they…

Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretations of student, school, district, and state testing data can be improved by customizing the traditional norm-referenced test. Improvements that can be made include: (1) increasing the relevance of the test to the curriculum and (2) having greater confidence in the national comparative…

This document discusses the role and the scope of evaluation in the mathematics classroom. The scope of mathematics objectives to be evaluated, the scope of evaluation purposes in the mathematics classroom, and the scope of evaluation procedures are noted. Specific comments are made on various evaluation procedures, including: (1) observations;…

This digest summarizes what is known about scholastic achievement in general education at the college level, and is based on a study using the College Basic Academic Subjects Examination (College BASE), a criterion-referenced achievement test of general education skills and competencies. College BASE assesses achievement in four subject areas:…

This report describes a study that examined the scholastic achievement of college students in general education. The study evaluated the College Basic Academic Subjects Examination (College BASE) scores of 74,535 students who were tested between 1988 and 1993 at 56 institutions of higher education. The study found that: (1) overall, scores in…

This review of literature from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database is the second volume on the topic of testing and assessment for the counseling professional; the first volume was published in 1979. The sections on minimum competency tests identify issues of current interest, e.g., the basic issue of definition; the…