In adolescence research, the treatment of measurement reliability is often fragmented, and it is not always clear how different reliability coefficients are related. We show that generalizability theory (G-theory) is a comprehensive framework of measurement reliability, encompassing all other reliability methods (e.g., Pearson "r,"…

The assessment of young children in early childhood special education is a central area of educational practice. The results of child assessments often have significant implications for young children, their families, and the programs that serve them, including eligibility for special education services, instructional planning, and documentation…

Scores are the most visible and widely used products of a testing program. The choice of score scale has implications for test specifications, equating, and test reliability and validity, as well as for test interpretation. At the same time, the score scale should be viewed as infrastructure likely to require repair at some point. In this report…

Addresses the issue of counselor expertise in test interpretation. Discusses norm-referenced versus criterion-referenced interpretation, interpreting the precision of the information, interpreting the meaning of the construct and its relevance to the decision, and general precautions regarding test interpretation. (LLL)

There is no conflict between interpretation of criterion-referenced tests, interpretation of norm referenced tests, and the SAT, nor should on be thought superior to the other in some sense. Each should supplement the other. (Author/PG)

To realize the dividends from the relationship between testing and teaching, teacher and administrator preparation and inservice training must be redesigned so that professionals are equipped to interpret results from norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests designed by experts. (JOW)

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"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…

Examines the extent to which grades derived from a conventional norm-referenced examination can be interpreted in terms of criterion-referenced performance assessments of different abilities and skills. Results suggest that performance is more affected by test format and subject matter than by the intellectual abilities tested by them. (JOW)

Principles are established for reaching valid decisions as to whether evaluative judgments should be norm referenced or criterion referenced. A set of decision rules is presented, in flow chart form, to serve as a guide to the decision-making process. The use of these decision rules is illustrated for a variety of practical situations. The…

The unfulfilled promise of criterion-referenced measurement is that it would permit valid inferences about what a student could and could not do. To come closest to achieving all that criterion-referenced testing originally promised, tests of higher item density, with more items per amount of domain, are required. (SLD)

Using the assumption of randomly parallel tests and concepts from generalizability theory, three signal/noise ratios for domain-referenced tests are developed, discussed, and compared. The three ratios have the same noise but different signals depending upon the kind of decision to be made as a result of measurement. (Author/JKS)

The term "criterion-referenced measurement" has been so frequently used that accumulated surplus meaning has sometimes swamped the fundamental concept. Stripping away extraneous interpretations affirms the contemporary relevance of the concept. Substituting the term "construct-referenced" underscores the need for better…

The discussion on criterion-referenced (CRT) and norm-referenced achievement tests (NRT) is divided into two parts: definitions and use. The authors contrast CRTs, tests which compare an individual's performance to some specified behavioral criterion of proficiency, and NRTs, tests which compare an individual's score to scores of others. They also…

Present definitions of the criterion-referenced test are discussed, insufficiences noted, and a new definition proposed. Some examples of criterion-referenced tests are examined and used to educe some general principles for the development of such tests. The utility of item form processes is assessed. It is suggested that the difficulty of…