This review critiques the highly-praised and influential 2001 study, "Getting Tough? The Impact of High School Graduation Exams," which concluded that "minimum competency," or high school "graduation exams," had no effect on student achievement. The review compares the test classifications of "Getting…

Independent schools are, for the most part, exempt from mandatory participation in standardized tests designed for state and federal comparisons, nor are they required to take part in comparative international assessments. The anxiety in the broader culture, however, is driving a growing interest among independent school parents (and prospective…

While major test publishers randomly select school districts for their national norming studies, a survey of "accepting" and "declining" districts supports the hypothesis that self-selection bias results in overrepresentation of districts which already use a specific publisher's tests or instructional materials. (Author/BW)

When 74 sixth-grade special education students were tested on the fifth-and fourth-grade levels of the 1977 California Achievement Test, their scores dropped significantly, although converted to in-level norms. Test validity, measured by the number of students scoring at floor level, on the in-level versus below-level norms, was subtest dependent.…

The purpose of the research was to explore an alternative implementation strategy for Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I evaluation Model A; that is, the use of Rasch calibrated item banks rather than traditional norm-referenced tests. A methodology for obtaining normative information for such banks involved equating a normed test with…

The California Achievement Test was given each Spring, 1981-1985, to all students in grades kindergarten through 11 in the Oklahoma City Public Schools. The results in reading and mathematics were interpreted in relation to: (1) national norms and point-in-time scores; (2) local students in the same grade in previous years; and (3) gain (or loss),…

The content validity of four reading achievement tests was evaluated with respect to third and fourth grade levels of the Pathfinder Allyn and Bacon Reading Program, using 29 third and 34 fourth graders. Instruments evaluated included subtests of the California Achievement Tests, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, Peabody Individual Achievement Test,…

A panel of expert referees from the Philadelphia school district categorized items from secondary-level standardized mathematics tests according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) subobjectives for mathematics. The following tests were covered by the study: (1) California Achievement Tests (Levels 19 and 20); (2) Comprehensive…

The effect of a basic competency education program on the achievement of high, average, and low-achieving students was examined for the Alabama Basic Competency Education program (BCE). California Achievement Tests scores in reading, mathematics, and language were examined for 3 years prior to initiation of the BCE program and for 3 years…

This study attempts to detect the presence of either of 2 different categories of large-scale bias in 4 widely used mathematics achievement tests: induced bias and norming bias. Subjects were 407 eighth graders. (IAH)

The effectiveness of Mississippi's Assistant Teacher Program (ATP) was evaluated after its third year of operation, determining: (1) whether first graders who were exposed to teachers and assistant teachers who had been in ATP for three years continued to make progress in academic achievement; (2) the effectiveness of ATP in fostering achievement…

To compile information on state and school district standardized testing programs, a survey instrument was designed and sent to 135 members of the National Association of Test Directors (NATD). Seventy responses (52%) were received in time to be included in the compilation. Most participating school districts (n=61, 87%) had a program mandated by…

Normative data reported by publishers of the California Achievement Test, the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, and the SRA Assessment Survey were used to illustrate a procedure for specifying goals for Title I programs in terms of normal curve equivalent (NCE) gains. The procedure was based on the amount of growth reflected in student reading…

Results are presented for the 1985-86 administration of achievement tests in the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools. The following norm-referenced, standardized tests were administered: California Achievement Tests (CAT) in kindergarten; Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) in grades 1 to 8; and Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) in grades 9 to…

Results of a survey using norm referenced tests of reading and mathematics for a large sample of sixth grade students throughout Texas are reported in detail. Statewide results are reported in terms of percentile ranks of average partial and total scores and in the percentage of students in each quarter of the norms. For each of 20 districts in…