Resources in Education, the Current Index to Journals in Education, and Psychological Abstracts were computer searched in order to identify documents and journal articles which describe the derivation, use, and misuse of grade equivalent scores, those scores which reflect a student's performance in a test or battery of tests according to grade…

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…

A test of mental arithmetic skills was developed and normed for children in grades one to six. Statistical techniques were used to predict the probability correct for each item and to rank order the items. Students in a given grade took only one level of the test and inferences were made of their performance on those tests which they did not take.…

A summary of the results of the Metropolitan Upper Primary Reading Test, Form B, which was administered to third grade pupils in Vancouver, is presented. Included are tables of local norms and comparisons of the results of earlier surveys. Because of the large number of perfect scores, it was concluded that the tests were too easy for many pupils.…

The cautions needed for correctly interpreting grade equivalent scores are presented simply, for persons who are not statisticians. Four potential limitations of grade equivalent scores are summarized. (1) Comparisons across grades are of little value when the subject content is not the same; for example, sixth grade American history is not…

One of the most subtle but viciously effective cultural mechanisms for harming children in the United States is the persistent confusion between norms and standards. Investigates what can be done to prevent unrealistic and invidious labeling of children during their most vulberable years if their growth curve in achievement or some other factor…

Grade-equivalent scores are widely used in the school system in reporting students' performance on standardized achievement tests. This paper explores how grade equivalent scores are calculated and interpreted. In addition, the paper examines the limitations of grade-equivalent scores through the use of small heuristic data sets. A…

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)

The major elements of a test interpretation model which would assist school personnel in presenting standardized test information to the public are presented. The model is a prototype based upon the testing program used in the Oakland, California Public Schools. An outline and sequence of the test score presentation are suggested, including notes…

The Basic Occupational Literacy Test (BOLT) was developed as an achievement test of basic skills in reading and arithmetic, for educationally disadvantaged adults. The objective was to develop a test appropriate for this population with regard to content, format, instructions, timing, norms, and difficulty level. A major issue, the use of grade…

Both on-level and out-of-level tests were administered to third and fifth grade children in order to compare the scaled scores of different level tests of the same testing program and to discover whether the relationship between levels might be distorted by ceiling or floor effects. Only reading tests were used in this study. The Stanford…

Concern was expressed for the possible effects of testing Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I students with norm-referenced tests that may be so difficult that many students will have scores in the chance range. The likelihood of such students obtaining equal scaled scores if they were tested with easier out-of-level tests was…

The orientation of this report is that of identifying educational projects which can be considered truly exemplary. The bulk of the report consists of a 23-step procedure for validating the effectiveness of educational programs using existing evaluation data. It is not intended as a guide for conducting evaluations but rather for interpreting data…

Fourth, seventh, and ninth grade students in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I programs were tested with the reading comprehension subtests of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, at each of two levels: on-level for each respective grade, and an easier out-of-level form. Approximately half of these students were found to be…

The orientation of this report is that of identifying educational projects which can be considered clearly exemplary. The largest section consists of a 22-step procedure for validating the effectiveness of educational projects using existing evaluation data. It is not intended as a guide for conducting evaluations but rather for interpreting data…