Functioning-level testing has been proposed as an alternative to grade-level testing for the evaluation of compensatory educational programs in which students score well below their own grade level. Data from two studies, however, suggest an adverse impact on program evaluation from the adoption of functioning-level testing. Two compensatory…

Rescales DRP-Difficulty (Degrees of Reading Power) into grade equivalent (GE) units using the estimated difficulty level values obtained from the Rauding Scale. Finds the revised scale is accurate to within one graded level for lower grade materials and to within two grade levels for upper grade materials. (MM)

Investigation of the relationship between functional grade placements (grades one through six) derived from a full scale informal reading inventory (Standard Reading Inventory) and grade placements derived from the word list subtest alone revealed a significant correlation. (JC)

In a discussion of accountability and performance contracting, the author believes that within a couple of years, performance contracting in its present form will be seen as a rather primitive, simplistic approach to the practice of accountability, but the notion of accountability will continue to be a powerful influence on the educational scene.…

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)

Reappraises the validity and reliability of Vocabulary and Block Design (V-VD) as a short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPI). Presents a table for converting the sum of scaled scores into an estimate of Full…

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…

Motivating students to perform well on assessment tests is difficult when students know the results have no academic consequence. The present study evaluates the influence of assessment context (graded vs. non-graded) on the reliability of an assessment measure. Results indicate the graded condition produces higher reliability (r = 0.71) than the…

This manual for administrators and teachers describes The Reading Tests for New York State Elementary Schools. The tests, utilizing the Degrees of Reading Power methodology, are designed to measure the most difficult prose text a student can read with comprehension, and are administered to all sixth grade students as part of the Pupil Evaluation…

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…

Administrative and technical problems were encountered in carrying out a minimum competency program for high school students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. The history of required minimum competency testing was reviewed briefly, and the process of clarifying and operationalizing the requirements was described within the Austin…

As a supplement to standardized reading tests, the Philadelphia Public School System prepared three parallel sets of reading tests to meet the following criteria: (1) be suitable for grouping secondary pupils within Title I reading classes; (2) be group administered and machine scoreable; (3) be short enough to be administered in one or two…