This study investigated the effects of the use of piles on the reliability and level of theme grades; and the effects of the number of grading categories on the reliability and level of theme grades, awarded to undergraduate English compositions. (CS)

The author discusses the dangers of using grade equivalency scores to identify learning disabled students. Deficiencies include that grade equivalents invite misleading interpretations, assume that the learning rate is constant throughout the school year, and exaggerate the significance of small differences in performance. Standard scores are…

The arbitrary nature of growth trends in cognitive variables is illustrated. Two metrics, grade equivalent and item-response theory representations, both of which preserve the order of performance levels in test data, produced different pictures of cognitive growth, and differences were seen to arise from differences in the scaling models. (SLD)

Some theoretical issues relevant to grading and the transforming of test scores are considered in this paper, and a comparison is made of two methods of scaling which use moderator variables. (Author)

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…

An alternative grading system for use in advanced typewriting and transcription classes is described. The system consists of E for excellent (equivalent to an A), M for mailable (equivalent to a B), and NM for not mailable. An S (equivalent to a C) is awarded when an assignment is satisfactorily retyped. (TA)

The first of a series of quizzes on types of derived scores concerns interpreting grade-equivalent (GE) scores. The true-false items require a response about whether the stated interpretation of the GE score is sound. An answer key explains specific scoring methods. (CM)

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

A procedure for checking the score equivalence of nearly identical editions of a test is described and illustrated with Scholastic Aptitude Test data. The procedure uses the standard error of equating and uses graphical representation of score conversion deviations from the identity function in standard error units. (SLD)

Examines the use of grade versus goal level reading material on curriculum-based measurement (CBM) progress-monitoring procedures. Students were administered CBM reading passage probes from both grade and goal level material. Rate of progress was indexed in each level of materials. Results indicate that the amount of progress observed varied as a…

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…

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…

Contends that there is a lack of understanding of the meaning of grade norms by the public, the critics in the press, and even many public school personnel. Points out that grade norms are not standards, but measures of the performance of the average student. (LLL)

Compared the observation of children's growth in reading using grade equivalents with that using the Rasch simultaneous vertical equating procedure. Results from equating 25 reading tests show that grade equivalents differ more between two different test forms than do ability measures obtained from the Rasch simultaneous vertical equating. (SLD)