Universal screening in elementary schools often includes administering curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R); but in first grade, nonsense word fluency (NWF) and, to a lesser extent, word identification fluency (WIF) are used because of concerns that CBM-R is too difficult for emerging readers. This study used Kane's argument-based…

A study examined the appropriateness of two methods for relating the enhanced American College Testing Program (ACT) Assessment Composite and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) total scores: equipercentile concordance and regression. Study results, potential inaccuracies, and the usefulness of institutional concordances based on their own data are…

Principal components analysis of standardization sample data for the Comprehensive Test of Adaptive Behavior, involving 6,647 persons with mental retardation, found that a single factor accounted for 86 percent of the variance in category scores. Use of the Total Score and idiographic item clusters is psychometrically preferable to use of category…

Median test scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) for many District of Columbia public schools declined substantially in 1990, although this decline was not evident in reports from school officials. These declines occurred at elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels, in grades 6, 9, and 11, respectively. They also…

A standardized achievement testing program was begun in Alum Rock, California in the fall of 1972 as part of an evaluation of an Educational Voucher Demonstration. During each of the first three years of the demonstration both the form of test administration and the particular level of the standardized achievement test that a student is assigned…

A sizable representative subsample of the standardization group for the Metropolitan Achievement Tests participated in both the Fall and Spring standardization programs. Fall and Spring test records were matched for all such pupils and Fall-Spring "growth expectancies" were derived. Additionally, the sample was split into three subgroups…

Educators considering adoption of policies regarding the promotion of students from one grade to the next must consider several factors, including acceptable levels of student progress toward terminal objectives, student developmental and cognitive abilities, community attitudes toward student retention, and the educational benefits of retention.…

Evidence on how the psychometric properties of verbal and quantitative academic aptitude tests are affected when item options are weighted using rather simple conceptual procedures is presented. This is discussed in connection with the scoring methods used on the Graduate Record Examinations. (DG)

Clues in the answers given to the Spanish Advanced Placement Examination questions can identify the test-taker as having learned the language in the classroom or as a native speaker. The Educational Testing Service has found mechanisms to ensure that the tests are equally suited to the two groups. (MSE)

While most school districts believe they understand grade equivalent scores, teachers, parents, and measurement specialists frequently misinterpret this apparently simple statistical expression. Echternacht's article describes the construction, application, and interpretation of grade equivalent scores from the test publisher's perspective.…

The SAT® I: Reasoning Test is administered seven times a year. Primarily for security purposes, several different test forms are given at each administration. How is it possible to compare scores obtained from different test forms and from different test administrations? The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the statistical…

Raw scores on most standardized educational and psychological assessment instruments acquire meaning only when referenced to a set of norms. Test publishers should clearly describe their norming procedures, including the target population and the sample on which the norms are based. The primary purpose of this report is to illustrate some of the…

Metropolitan Achievement Tests (MAT) and Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Tests were administered to elementary school students of the Oklahoma City Public Schools. Results of the testing are presented in tables and consist of: elementary school test results as compared to the national means in reading, language, and mathematics; a comparison of scores…

It is unsafe to estimate achievement test norms for fall testing by linear interpolation between norms for the previous spring testing and norms for the following spring. Second grade students were tested in reading and arithmetic in the fall and in the spring to provide pre-test and post-test data for evaluation of academic growth. Three…