This study investigated the cut score setting process as it occurred in two large Midwestern school districts, focusing on how the teachers who were the instruments by which cut scores were set experienced the process. Eight standard setting workshops using the Angoff approach were observed. Workshops for mathematics, reading, or writing at grades…

School districts and credentialing agencies use information gathered in standard setting studies to establish minimum passing scores (MPS) for a variety of purposes. These scores may be used to make decisions ranging from subject remediation to licensure. Multiple standard setting methods may be used to provide a range of scores to the…

Two studies examined methods for arriving at cutscores in school districts, including the Angoff (W. Angoff, 1971), borderline, and contrasting groups methods and two new methods, one based on course enrollment and the other based on expert expectations. Results from a 10th grade algebra test and a test of third grade reading show the viability of…

In cut score setting processes, subject matter experts are asked to make judgments about the likely performance of examinees at a targeted skill level. When cut scores are used in K-12 settings to separate students who have and have not mastered certain skills, the target examinee may be characterized as the barely proficient or barely master…

This qualitative study seeks to tell the story of how teachers, district administrators, and consultants came together to construct a cut score to be recommended to the Willtown Board of Education. Findings suggest that cut score setting is influenced by social and political as well as educational concerns. The findings of this study suggest…

A key component of the Angoff (W. Angoff, 1971) method for setting cut scores is the target examinee. Expert judges are asked, following training and discussion, to consider the ability and the likely performance of some subset of examinees and to then estimate, item by item, the likely performance of such examinees on the test for which a cut…

A study was conducted to explore empirically the effect of different definitions of the target examinee on the judgment of panelists setting a passing score. Two cut score studies were done in a school district for the same test within a 6-month period, and different definitions of the target candidate were provided for each study. In October…

Setting performance standards on constructed-response assessments involving polytomously scored exercises presents a challenge for measurement practitioners. Some standard setting methods designed for use with multiple-choice, dichotomously scored assessments entail aggregating item performance estimates across a panel of experts. For these items,…