Evidence to support the credibility of standard setting procedures is a critical part of the validity argument for decisions made based on tests that are used for classification. One area in which there has been limited empirical study is the impact of standard setting judge selection on the resulting cut score. One important issue related to…

The article addresses some problems and options in setting standards on language tests and examinations. More specifically, it reports on a set of three workshops conducted in the European context where standard setting in language education typically concerns linking tests and examinations to the Council of Europe's "Common European…

Recently, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) released a document that established initial performance levels and the associated threshold scale scores for the Smarter Balanced assessment. The report included estimated percentages of students expected to perform at each of the four performance levels, reported by grade…

This paper describes how a state education system in Australia introduced standards-referenced assessments into its large-scale, high-stakes, curriculum-based examinations in a way that enables comparison of performance across time even though the examinations are different each year. It describes the multi-stage modified Angoff standard-setting…

While externally moderated standards-based assessment has been practised in Queensland senior schooling for more than three decades, there has been no such practice in the middle years. With the introduction of standards at state and national levels in these years, teacher judgement as developed in moderation practices is now vital. This paper…

Alternate assessments of modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) must be designed, developed, implemented, and validated following the same rigorous principles and procedures used for other assessments. However, the uniqueness and unfamiliarity of the target population for these assessments requires innovative thinking, especially in…

Throughout classrooms in the United States there appears to have been a general watering down of academic standards. The percentages of "A" and "B" grades have risen, and at some schools, the percentage of grades of "C" or lower has plummeted. Numerous scholarly articles about grade inflation discuss the extent,…

Research studies that have investigated the use of mastery testing models and other related techniques are examined. A review of the procedures suggested for setting the pass fail point is also discussed. (Author/DEP)

Some of the different approaches to standard setting are discussed. Brief comments and references are offered concerning strategies that rely primarily on the use of expert judgment. Controversy surrounds methods that use expert judges, as well as those using test groups to set scores empirically. A minimax procedure developed by H. Huynh, an…

This paper offers answers to nine important questions concerning standard-setting issues and methods: (1) Should normative or content-referenced standards be used? (2) Different standard-setting methods yield different results. What is your reaction to this finding? That of your clients? Does this finding present a problem for the application of…

Alternative group judgment approaches to setting minimum competency standards were compared. Replication of results was possible for eight different tests (reading and mathematics, across four grade levels). The Kansas Competency Based Tests in reading and mathematics were administered statewide to students in grades two, four, six, and eight.…

Issues involved in standard setting along with methods for standard setting are reviewed, with specific reference to their relevance for criterion referenced testing. Definitions are given of continuum and state models, and traditional and normative standard setting procedures. Since continuum models are considered more appropriate for criterion…

The Achievement-Levels Setting (ALS) process for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) resulted in numerical cutscores on the NAEP score scale representing the performance standards for three achievement levels: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. This paper focuses on an important, but less researched, aspect of the standard setting…

In 1999 a validation study of the 1998 Civics Assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was conducted, combining a similarity classification study and a booklet classification study. The rationale was that if the teachers who had participated in the 5-day achievement levels-setting process could not use the descriptions…

In the specific methods of standard setting in testing, judgments about individuals being tested, contrasting groups being tested, and judgments about the test items are discussed. In judgments about individual test-takers, assumptions are presented based on the knowledge and skills the test is intended to measure, the test-takers' skills at the…