Effect sizes are commonly reported for the results of educational interventions. However, researchers struggle with interpreting their magnitude in a way that transcends generic guidelines. Effect sizes can be interpreted in a meaningful context by benchmarking them against typical growth for students in the normative distribution. Such benchmarks…

Independent schools are, for the most part, exempt from mandatory participation in standardized tests designed for state and federal comparisons, nor are they required to take part in comparative international assessments. The anxiety in the broader culture, however, is driving a growing interest among independent school parents (and prospective…

Ten tables present equivalent scores between the 1978 Metropolitan Achievement Tests and the 1973 Stanford Achievement Test in terms of grade equivalent (GE) scores. These data were derived empirically by administering the two tests to two groups of students matched in terms of Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test scores. Equivalent GEs were determined…

Test wiseness (TW) has been recognized as an important source of variance on standardized achievement tests, independent of content or random error. To help students develop the type of TW skills necessary for optimal performance on reading achievement tests (ie. time using, guessing strategies), a comprehensive TW skills instructional program…

Gender differences in scores on the Metropolitan Achievement Test (secondary students) and Stanford Achievement Test (elementary school students) were studied with 844 white students in Mississippi. Results are consistent with other recent research in which females outperformed males, supporting the contention that gender differences favoring…

This paper focuses generally on student non-cognitive improvement before and after a Newark Chapter 1 program implementation; and specifically, on demonstrated growth in the non-cognitive areas over the year from pre-assessment to post-assessment as part of the Chapter 1 intervention. The evaluation was conducted, based on classification in terms…

The following information on the development of the 1978 Metropolitan Achievement Tests (MAT), fifth edition, is given; the purpose and importance of item analysis, steps preceding item tryout, characteristics of the sample population, and data obtained. Item analysis allows elimination of undesirable items, adjustment of the difficulty level of…

The underlying theme of the 1979-80 Hartford Public Schools Group test results was maintenance of the status quo. There were both gains and declines in city-wide averages: individual subtest gains in some cases, put Hartford at or above the national norm (math computation in grades 2, 3, and 4), while the reading comprehension averages in grades 7…

Norm-referenced standardized achievement tests are designed for obtaining group scores which can vary widely, depending on not only the measure of central tendency but also the type of derived score employed. This situation is hypothesized to be the result of using inappropriate statistical procedures to develop publishers' scaled scores.…

Five new test batteries are reviewed: California Achievement Tests, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, SRA Achievement Series, and Sequential Tests of Educational Progress. The review covers six basic areas: test administration, norming, test scores, reporting and interpretation, aptitude test considerations, and general…

The Metropolitan Achievement Test, Seventh Edition (MAT7) reports percentages of student test scores above the 50th U.S. national percentile (top half of the distribution of student test scores) and percentage in each national quarter. Having more students than 50% above the 50th national percentile means that achievement was higher than the…

Content analyses for sex bias were conducted on items from three widely-used achievement tests which together span the grade levels 1-12. A significant but modest correlation was found between an item's content bias and performance on that item by male and female students. (SJL)

Investigates the relationship between hemisphere, brain preferences, and academic failure or success by studying 131 average and above average fourth and seventh grade students. Concludes that cerebral hemisphere functions do affect learning. (MM)

Analysis of the available data suggests that New York's elementary and secondary schools, taken as a whole, compiled a good record of achievement during the 1982-83 school year. Three kinds of test data were analyzed. One was the result of a study which involved the collection of scores on three commercially available standardized tests: the…

This report contains information about the CHAD school, an ungraded, community oriented school for children from ages 3 through 14. Academic offerings, enrollment policies, student background, and institutional characteristics are briefly described. Tables showing student interest in math and science fields and information about the school's…