Both criterion-referenced and norm-referenced measures are useful tools to the classroom teacher, but each has its specific uses. The criterion-referenced measure is useful when one is interested in whether an individual possesses particular competencies and when there are no quotas as to how many possess that skill. It is particularly useful in…

Consideration is given to the degree of congruence between objectives and test items in the evaluation of objective-based testing. An analytic technique that measures congruence is described, and a bibliography is provided. (CK)

Discussions at the National Consortium on Testing conference are summarized. Updates on recent and upcoming events are given by Jeff Schiller (National Institute of Education), Doug Whitney (American Council on Education), John Maxwell (National Council of Teachers of English), Dorianne Almann (National Science Teachers Association), Eric Gardner…

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…

A discussion of evaluating informal logic competence centers on the identification of currently available tests and on a description of test theory, to aid in test selection. The following concepts in test theory are discussed: norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests, true scores, reliability, validity, test selection and evaluation, test…

The effectiveness of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I reading and mathematics laboratories were evaluated to assess the improvement of underachieving elementary school students' academic skills. Laboratory students were selected on the basis of academic (rather than socioeconomic) criteria in grades 2 through 5; the control…

In the spring of 1979, the National Institute of Education, in collaboration with the United States Office of Education, the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE), and members of a nation-wide network of research and development agencies, sponsored a national colloquy on the theme that testing could have an important impact in improving…

A method of developing measurement instruments to assess academic achievement in proficiency-based education is presented. Materials and exercises are sequenced to correspond to major activities which must be completed in developing local assessment systems. The exercises contained in this workshop guide have been field tested and can be followed…

The objectives of this booklet are to provide suggestions, procedures, and rules of thumb to aid the evaluator in using achievement tests in program evaluation. It also discusses some of the theories underlying the procedures for developing and selecting achievement tests and interpreting their results. Each of the six chapters offers advice on…

The approach characterizing this study of bias in tests of educational achievement is stated to be reflective and philosophical rather than experimental and statistical. Its concern is with operationally definable areas of learning and indicators of achievement rather than with the hypothetical latent traits that are presumed by some to influence…

Many professionals are convinced that more testing, tracking, and retention are taking place in the early school years than ever before. They also believe that developmentally inappropriate modifications to curricula are being implemented. As a result of inappropriate use of standardized tests, disproportionate numbers of poor and minority…

Assessment instruments for use with adult learners are summarized; findings of a test use survey of 163 California districts serving adult students are given; and management techniques for administering large and small group tests are suggested. Forms for the evaluation of test instruments and for an assessment survey are appended. Tests reviewed…

The concern with the negative impact on blacks of the national trend toward assessing aptitude achievement and intelligence almost solely through test instruction whose validity and/or administration method is often suspect is reflected in this document. It reports the conference proceedings of the National Association for the Advancement of…

A survey was conducted among Ontario, Canada teachers, administrators, and parents regarding the following aspects of French-language achievement testing: which standardized and criterion-referenced tests were used; who developed the tests; how test results were used; how school boards communicated test results to parents; what trends existed in…

The Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES), Phase II, was a research project on effective teaching behavior--what teachers do that significantly affects what and how pupils learn. The purposes of Phase II were to (1) develop an assessment system for measuring teacher and student behaviors and other factors which could influence each of them and…