Recently, Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) completed a study to connect the scale of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) Testing Program used for Minnesota's mathematics and reading assessments with NWEA's RIT (Rasch Unit) scale. Information from the state assessments was used in a study to establish performance-level scores on…

Addresses problems in the interpretation of standardized reading test scores. Focuses on reading age (or reading grade) and demonstrates that converting test scores to a scale of reading ages is essentially meaningless and potentially dangerous. (AEA)

A study was conducted to determine how well gifted students in grades 4-6 should be reading and whether traditional reading expectancy formulas are useful in predicting reading achievement of gifted students in the upper elementary grades. The total reading scores on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (Form Q2) for 624 fourth and sixth graders…

This study examined the reading grade equivalents, oral reading rates, and prevailing error patterns of fourth grade disabled readers on standardized oral reading tests to determine if there were significant differences in the results obtained among the various instruments. Errors made on the oral paragraphs/stories from the Durrell Analysis of…

Results of the Gates-Macginitie Reading Test for sixth graders are summarized. Tables include information for each subtest concerning mean scores, percentile ranks, grade equivalent scores, and standard scores. The level of achievement in this survey was lower than that of previous surveys. (MS)

Estimates of reading ability for second through fourth grade Title I pupils were obtained through grade-level and out-of-level testing. Results show that the method of testing affects the students' scores, the identification of pupils needing remedial reading instruction, and evaluation of the reading program. (JKS)

Reports on a study that examined differences in the comprehension scores achieved by seventh and eighth grade students on Form 1 and Form 3 of the Gates-MacGinitie, Level E. (HOD)

Responds to Fry's article in the January 1971 Reading Teacher, The Orangoutang Score." Suggests that chance level scores should not be assumed to have arisen only from random processes and that there are methods for identifying a thoughtful, nonrandom performance. References. (VJ)

This report summarizes the results of the March, 1978, reading examination that was administered to New York City public school pupils in grades 2 through 9 (with the exception of those in high schools). Section A delineates New York City student reading achievement compared to national norms. Section B compares pupil reading achievement by school…

Statistical methods and test writing for reading comprehension have been based on the assumption that certain reading tasks or levels are appropriate at one age level that would be too difficult at another. A clear-cut determination of grade levels for reading materials has, however, not been defined. Grade and age equivalent scores on silent…

The Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) yields raw scores, standard scores, and percentile scores for reading skill, spelling skill, and arithmetic computational skill, and is applicable for determining student competence in these areas for pre-kindergarten through college level. Because national norms on the 1965 revised WRAT are not, however,…

Students in four history classes were administered the Reading Progress Scale, form 5C (1975), to determine if scores would identify students who would have difficulty with coursework. Using multiple regression analysis, the scale accounted for only 8% of grade variance. While the complete sample chi square was significant, individual classes…

Five standardized tests of reading achievement were administered to community college freshmen. Students took two different tests on consecutive days. Grade-equivalent scores on tests were compared. Differences were found between tests based on the number of students who reached the criterion score of grade-equivalent 11 or 12. (Author/CTM)

Organized as a question-and-answer booklet, this parents' guide explains scores on standardized reading achievement tests. Examples illustrate the meaning of certain grade equivalent scores. The grade equivalent method is described as a poor way to report scores; raw scores, percentiles, and stanine ranges are discussed as alternatives. The…

In a question and answer format, this guide for parents discusses important issues about standardized reading tests, including the following: (1) scoring systems are obscure; (2) grade level equivalency scores are educationally inaccurate and misleading to child and parent; (3) standardized reading tests are meant to compare groups and not to…