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…

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…

An instrument to measure attitude toward the learning of French as a second language (ALFS) was developed. Instruments already developed to measure motivational intensity and orientations (instrumental and integrative) were modified to fit the local situation. The experimental subjects were 100 students from grades 7 and 8. Twenty-five students…

Grade equivalent (GE) scores for elementary school achievement tests are defended in response to efforts to ban their use. Equal interval developmental scoring methods for the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills are criticized. (BS)

A point system was introduced in two advanced courses in Spanish in order to provide more individualized instruction. Students who were weak in written or spoken Spanish at the beginning of the semester could compensate by doing extra work; more advanced students could contract to do more sophisticated projects. (Author/RM)

For the benefit of policy makers who envision a change in the controls placed on student examining, a case study is presented of an institution that has not attempted an honor system and that has not seen a noticeable decline in courses with formal examinations. Procedures at Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences are described. (LBH)

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)

Developmental standard score scales produce unrealistic expectations for growth of low-achieving students only if the low-achieving students are tested in an inappropriate way. Examples illustrate the unrealistic nature of such score scales when applied to the testing of learning disabled and Chapter One students. (SLD)

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…

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…

Addressing the trend in American colleges and universities to award constantly higher grades each year, New College of Hofstra University has been studying the grading patterns over the past years. Grades awarded during the academic year 1975-76 have not changed significantly. They remained at B level. The percent of grades in each grade category…

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 relative magnitudes of R-squared values computed through multiple regression models using grade equivalent scores, raw scores, standard scores, and percentiles as both predictor and criterion variables are compared. Grade equivalents and standard scores produced the highest R-squared values. (Author/JKS)

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…