In the present paper and the discussion that follows, the author presents aspects of test construction and a careful description of instructional objectives. Constructing tests involves several stages such as describing language objectives, selecting appropriate test task, devising and assembling test tasks, and devising a scoring system for…

A criterion-referenced test is one that is used to identify an individual student's status with respect to an established standard of performance. This standard of performance, a performance objective, describes the expected student behavioral changes and the conditions and criteria under which these changes will occur. The specificity of the…

What should be known about this testing technique - where the tests come from, who uses them, how they use them, and why. (Author)

This is one of the outcomes of the work of the Massachusetts Evaluation Service Center for Occupational Education (ESCOE). This programmed text is intended for use by teachers in occupational education. Some of the theory and background associated with behavioral objectives is included. The main emphasis is on teaching the skill of writing a…

The 1970s has become the time for reevaluating the intended purposes of tests, and for considering meaningful alternatives to the test score. Author considers the criterion-referenced versus the norm-referenced test. (Author/RK)

Reviews techniques of evaluation in mathematics and discusses three testing issues and their implications: objective and subjective methods, behavioral objectives in test construction, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced measures. Recommendations on testing practices are also summarized. (HM)

Standardized norm-referenced tests have been much maligned in recent years. They differ from criterion referenced tests in that the latter involve assessment in comparison to an absolute standard or specific performance objective while in a norm-referenced test assessment is made in comparison to other students taking the same test. Standardized…

Two fundamental components of behavioral instruction were investigated: the reported testing feature and absolute performance standards. The component analysis was conducted by offering an undergraduate psychology course simultaneously along two dimensions: grading systems and number of study/test cycles. The 425 college student subjects were…

The paper investigates and analyses the current state of the art of criterion-referenced measurement (CRM), with a view to determining its use in training and instructional programs. It presents a reveiw of the literature pertaining to the following aspects: a brief history of CRM; a definition and comparison of criterion-referenced and…

A comparison is drawn between norm-referenced (or competitive) and criterion-referenced testing procedures as used for the purpose of assessing and grading knowledge gained from teaching. It is argued that competitive or norm-referenced grading practices are sadistic, unethical, statistically unsound, and irrelevant to course objectives.…

This manual outlines the rationale for using the Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) approach and suggests specific guidelines for test developers to use in constructing test items. Methods for assessing the adequacy of a CRT are also provided. (Author/RC)

The corpus of descriptive terminology associated with achievement testing has expanded considerably in recent years, in large part due to the heightened interest in absolute and/or direct metrics for interpreting test performance plus the development of more rigorous strategies for specifying test content. Widely prevalent disagreement about…

The objectives of the symposium were to provide an example of the institution of a systems approach to the solving of an educational problem and to relate this approach to current measurement issues such as criterion-referenced interpretation of test scores and individualization of assessment, diagnosis and instruction. A pilot project in reading…