This paper was presented with other papers in a forum dealing with statewide testing programs. The primary purpose of the paper is to address practical considerations and methods of resolution for large districts or states who are planning on conducting large scale testing or assessment programs with criterion or performance referenced measures.…

A method to investigate consequential evidence of validity for a state assessment developed to change teacher instructional practices is presented. Survey responses from over 1,000 Kansas teachers were used to construct a path model that allowed effects of the state assessment to be studied at building and teacher levels. (SLD)

This pamphlet presents answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). They include questions about the history of MEAP, its costs, subject coverage, test validity, the type of tests, administration of the tests, and use of MEAP results. (BW)

Three new indicators of psychometric quality for objectives-based statewide assessments are proposed. These measures provide indication of the stability of reported data on item and objectives mastery, the validity of assessment items for members of various cultural groups, and the convergent validity of prescribed objectives mastery scores. The…

This monograph reviews issues in research on the effects of using accommodations for students with disabilities who are included in educational assessments, particularly state and district assessments. Following an introductory overview, a section provides background on the need for good research on accommodations. The paper then defines commonly…

Focusing on the problems of assessing the speaking skills of secondary school students, this paper provides one example of how those problems were addressed in the Massachusetts speaking assessment. The paper identifies four requirements for measures of speaking skills: (1) feasibility, (2) reliability, (3) validity, and (4) freedom from bias. The…

This study examined the construct validity of the subtests in the California Entry Level Test (ELT). The ELT is administered to every first grade pupil in California as part of the California Assessment Program and is used as a baseline measure of the prereading skills of beginning first graders. The discriminant validity of the subtests was…

Key findings of a pilot study of the Alaska Instructional Diagnostic System (AIDS) are summarized. The AIDS pilot test served to verify the appropriateness of the skills survey as well as the validity and reliability of the items. The AIDS testing system includes three components: (1) upper level skills surveys (grades 3-8); (2) lower level skill…

State Departments of Education are turning to the use of criterion referenced, as opposed to norm referenced, models for statewide assessment. The underlying assumption in this turn of events is that results generated by criterion referenced tests within the statewide assessment context permit the drawing of value inferences about the…

The statewide teaching performance assessment instruments being used in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida were examined. Forty-one reliability and validity studies regarding the instruments in use in each state were collected from state departments and universities. Georgia uses the Georgia Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument. North…

The 1972-73 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) provided information on 22 measures of students and schools. While some of the data were gathered in routine Michigan Department of Education reports, student performance data were gathered using the Michigan Assessment of Basic Skills battery, Form VMT during January 1973. The battery…

A sample of slightly over 1500 students was drawn from even-numbered grades in public schools of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and was given the 1973 edition of the Stanford Achievement Test (in grades 2,4,6, & 8) and the Test of Academic Skills (grades 10 and 12) to assess student academic achievement in the basic skill areas of mathematics,…

The validities of the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) Preparing for a Changing World Instruments at grades 5, 8, and 11 were investigated. The study was carried out in a suburban school district where many students had experienced a great deal of change in their lives. At each grade level approximately 60 students who had…

This explanatory booklet and the materials that accompany it have two major purposes. The first purpose is to provide local school officials with information regaing the performance on basic skills achievement of each student who took the 1971-72 Michigan Educational Assessment Battery. The second purpose is to provide local officials with…

A project was conducted to revise the list of assessment instruments that Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE)-funded agencies are permitted to use to report learner gains. Through a mail survey, the project researched 19 standardized assessment instruments used by agencies for reporting learner…