Three separate studies were designed to provide information on the alignment of norm-referenced achievement test items in language arts to Nebraska's content standards at grades 4, 8, and 11. The information was used to evaluate the alignment of the tests to the standards as well as compare that alignment across the five tests. There were 20…

Test publishers have promoted their commercially available norm-referenced achievement tests as viable solutions to assessment challenges faced by states. They argue that their tests are developed professionally and therefore possess sound psychometric properties not often found in state-specific efforts. This study compared judgments from two…

This study addressed what standard-setting panelists think about when they make item performance estimates for a barely proficient student. This study extended previous studies by considering the factors that influenced panelists' decisions in an Angoff (1971)-based standard-setting study as a function of their item performance estimates.…

Test publishers have promoted their commercially available, norm-referenced achievement tests as viable solutions to assessment challenges faced by states. They argue that their tests are developed professionally, and, therefore, possess sound psychometric properties not often found in state-specific efforts. This study compared judgments from two…

Popham describes the evolution of his Instructional Objectives Exchange (IOX) from an objectives-dispensing enterprise to an assessment-creating enterprise. Discusses national standardized testing, criterion-referenced versus norm-referenced assessment, teacher licensure tests, and professional development activities for graduate students. (KS)

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)