Despite common conceptions, evidence on whether No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has had adverse effects for low achieving students is mixed. We hypothesize that the incentive to shift attention away from the lowest achieving students increases with the rigor of state standards. Using panel data from students in North Carolina, we exploit two natural…

The teacher's task of assigning letter grades to students and the public's interpretation of them can be perplexing. Does the student's grade represent the level of achievement, the gain in achievement, or some combination of the two? Is the student's effort included in the grade, or are high achievers given good marks regardless of effort? Are…

THE ASSUMPTION THAT ONE-TENTH OF THE YEARLY GROWTH IN ALL ACHIEVEMENT AREAS TAKES PLACE EACH MONTH OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND THAT ONE-TENTH OF THE YEARLY GROWTH OCCURS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS WAS INVESTIGATED. THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ANNUAL IOWA BASIC SKILLS TESTING PROGRAM IN THE STATE OF IOWA. MEDIANS FOR THE 11 SUBTESTS…

Discusses the exact meaning and limitations of commonly used types of standardized test scores: grade equivalent scores; percentile ranks, and standard scores. (SR)

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 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.…

Guidelines for explaining standardized test results to parents of students are provided. More specifically, the guidelines cover rationales for testing, the various types of scores and their meanings, and means of interpreting scores. Scores covered include stanine scores, percentile scores, and grade-level equivalent scores. The importance to…

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…

Uses of the variety of scores generated by standardized achievement tests are discussed. Desirable characteristics of scales, raw score scales, percent of correct items, percentile ranks, grade equivalents, normal curve equivalents, and scale scores are considered. The various meanings and purposes of each type of score are discussed. It is…

Improved communication and cooperation between test publishers and school systems is essential for solving major test problems. Test-curriculum matching, test equating, and inappropriate use of grade equivalent scores are major problem areas. The degree to which a standardized test yields information relevant to what the system is trying to teach…

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)

A comprehensive review of test practices and recommendations for setting up a district testing program that will meet informational needs. (Editor)

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,…