Using the grade equivalent composite scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills of Iowa fourth grade public school pupils who took the tests in January 1970, a study was made to determine the relative precision with which an estimate could be made of the individual percentile norms from different types of cluster sample designs. Five scores ranging…

The developer of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills scaling responds to Hoover's attacks on Thurstone and item response theory scales (TM 510 173). While agreeing that grade equivalent (GE) scores are presently the most appropriate developmental score for reporting elementary grade achievement tests, limitations and inconsistencies in the GE…

The performance of pupils, individual schools, and the Wichita Public School System is depicted in a quantitative report of the results of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) administered as part of the system's basic testing program. The ITBS battery measured vocabulary, reading, language, work-study and mathematics skills and results are given…

The Rasch model was used to compare the grade equivalent scores which students of equal ability would have obtained, had they taken different levels of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Raw scores on items common to levels 9-14 of the ITBS (vocabulary subtest) were obtained from 6,000 students in Dallas, Texas. Rasch scales were used to…

The author addresses issues raised by Burket (TM 510 174) about the Iowa Test of Basic Skills scaling procedures. Further reasons for his criticism of Thurstone scale scores and item response theory scale scores for elementary school achievement tests are given. (BS)

The average grade equivalent reading comprehension scores of students in Black schools are compared to those of students in White schools under two forms of test administration. Concludes that use of grade level testing with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills is biased in favor of low scoring subgroups. (Author)

In certain situations, grade equivalent scores are the most appropriate statistic available for reporting achievement test data. It is noted that testing practitioners have found that raw scores, normal curve equivalents, stanines, and standard scores are very useful. However, it is best to convert to either grade equivalents or percentiles before…

This paper provides school personnel with a practical outline for selecting an appropriate standardized achievement battery by describing the test selection procedures developed by a large metropolitan school system. The system needed a new achievement test battery which would reflect recent curriculum changes and provide for grade level testing.…

An experiment investigated the extent to which the results of out-of-level testing may be biased because the child given an out of level test may have had a significantly different curriculum than the children given in-level tests. Item analysis data suggested this was unlikely. (CTM)

To determine the concurrent validity of a standardized test and its usefulness to educators, reading ratings from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were compared to teacher ratings and independently administered placement test ratings. Two hundred one primary children, the majority of whom read one or more years below grade level, took the ITBS by a…

The Wichita Follow Through Project (Tucson Early Education Model) involved kindergarten through third grade pupils from low and middle income families in four elementary schools. The 1975-76 longitudinal evaluation was based primarily on results from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (grades three-six). Also included were the Metropolitan Readiness…

One approach to identifying effective schools defines effectiveness in terms of student achievement in reading, mathematics, and language usage. Exceptional school achievement is indicated by performance above or below the level expected if students were merely to maintain their previous rate of growth. Regression analysis is used to compute…

1988 is the eighth year of the Arizona Pupil Achievement Testing Program which is administered to fulfill the requirements of Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15-741 through Section 15-744. This legislation mandates that a nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test be administered during April to all pupils enrolled in Arizona public…

The stability of reading performance, as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, and Iowa Tests of Educational Development, was studied using students in grades 1 through 7 and grades 9 and 11. A reading vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test are included in all three test batteries. The standard…