Longitudinal change in the average Z scores for four groups of pupils sorted by quartiles was examined for its stability over three years. The data, collected from 1998 to 2009, was obtained from nine cohorts of Japanese junior high school pupils totaling 1,962 subjects. It showed illusionary declines among the mid-range pupils but improvements…

As more colleges move to "test optional" admissions policies, the debate over the utility and interpretation of standardized-test scores continues. In this article, the author interviews Daniel Koretz, a professor of education at Harvard University and author of "Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us". Koretz…

This brief introduction to testing is geared to parents. Types of tests are defined, such as standardized tests, achievement tests, norm referenced tests, criterion referenced tests, and aptitude tests. Various types of scores (grade equivalent, percentile rank, and stanine are also defined, and the uses made of tests by administrators, teachers,…

Many problems in the areas of test interpretation and educational assessment are causing difficulties for educators. On one hand the public and legislators are requesting more state testing programs and assessment programs, while on the other, educators realize the problems concerning testing and test interpretation. Difficulties arise when tests…

Analyzes the uses that can be made from test data and the influences such data can have on communication with communities, in the evaluation of school's effectiveness, and student's placement. (Author/RK)

This article is a brief summary of "The Standardized Test Scores of College Graduates, 1964-1982," a study sponsored by the National Institute of Education (NIE), which pulls together scores on a variety of examinations as well as student background information. Over the past two decades the test scores of college graduates have…

Arguing that most standardized tests are biased against minorities, especially black Americans, several alternatives and guidelines are suggested to alter the present unfair administration, interpretation, and testing process. (EH)

Four confusing issues that have delayed progress toward an awareness that testing is not a source of unfairness for minority students are discussed: (1) the assumptions underlying most of our psychometric manipulations are often not acknowledged or understood; (2) the extent of the objectivity of psychometrics is frequently exaggerated; (3) the…

An indictment of the ways in which reading and mathematics standardized tests affect classroom curricula. (Author)

Suggests ways of bringing "sanity" to standardized testing. For instance, no standardized test should ever be administered for purposes of establishing scholastic pecking orders, and the agency that administers a standardized test must determine the relationship between measured ability and measured achievement. (Author/IRT)

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted in the spring of l981 that was designed to collect and summarize guidelines on appropriate test use from the various organizations, agencies, and associations involved in standardized educational testing. The primary objective of the study was to learn how these various groups define the issues…

This list of audiovisual materials on educational testing and assessment has been compiled from a variety of sources; the primary source was the National Information Center for Educational Media's Index to 16mm Educational Films, 1977 edition. Although the items are annotated, no attempt was made to review or to endorse any of the materials…

This handbook is designed to serve as a resource for Alaskan district-level administrators in charge of planning, implementing and monitoring districtwide student assessment programs. The information is divided into 10 chapters, including: (1) aligning assessment with curriculum and instruction; (2) planning an assessment program; (3)…

Examines confusions that result from the use of the words "standardization,""reliability,""objectivity," and "validity" in connection with testing. (IRT)