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

Two principles and one verbal technique provide a sound basis for communicating to students and their parents the information obtained from testing: (1) parents have the right to know whatever the school knows about the abilities, performance and problems of their children; (2) the school has the obligation to see that it communicated…

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…

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…

Using data from a national random sample of 16,685 high school seniors collected in 1972, 10 different grade average reporting systems were analyzed by means of a nonlinear least squares procedure. A grade conversion table was created by relating reported grade averages in all of the systems to common percentile ranks in class. It was suggested…

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.…

Five possible interpretations are given of very high correlations between scores on successively administered ability tests in a longitudinal sample of approximately 7,000 public school students tested in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11. At each of the four grades, students were given the appropriate level of the Sequential Test of Education Progress…

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…

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…

The single most important output of any school is probably the magnitude of its students' growth in academic achievement. A variety of standardized tests has been developed to measure aspects of this achievement; however, only recently have administrators attempted to use such tests to help review and make decisions about educational programs.…

A comprehensive assessment was made of the status of elementary education in Missouri in reading, mathematics, language, and study skills. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) and the Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude (SFTAA) were administered to a sample of Missouri fourth and sixth graders. For each curricular area, Missouri…

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)

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…