A comprehensive review of test practices and recommendations for setting up a district testing program that will meet informational needs. (Editor)

This paper describes the methods used for revising the Cincinnati Mathematics Inventories, a battery of criterion-referenced tests of basic skills used in the Cincinnati Title III program and other city-wide special programs. Each of these tests is designed to cover a half-year of work; items are included to sample skills listed in the Catalog of…

This publication provides a general description, in question-and-answer format, of the 1999 Utah Statewide Testing Program. Under this program, norm-referenced achievement tests are administered to Utah students in grades 5, 8, and 11 under a legislative mandate. The newest edition of the Stanford Achievement Tests, the Stanford 9, was chosen as…

As a result of using the Rasch model in building item banks in reading and mathematics, we were able to design two new testing programs for our district. The first was a grade level competency-based evaluation program designed to identify our district's low achievement-level students as well as the precompetency goals on which they needed help.…

Norm-referenced tests (NRT) help compare the performance of one student with the performances of a large group of students, while criterion-referenced tests (CRT) focus on "what test takers can do and what they know, not how they compare to others" (Anastasi, 1988). Both types of test can be standardized so that scores can be interpreted the same…

Development of a standardized curriculum and customized test for mathematics is described. Because of the diversity of the New York City school system, a centrally-planned curriculum became a necessity for continuity and quality. The present mathematics curriculum has been in existence since 1982, and is both comprehensive and cyclical. Five…

This handbook exists to assist the staff of a Springfield, Illinois school district in implementing the district assessment program and to assist other local school units in developing and assessing an implementation program. Chapter 1 presents information on the philosophical and pragmatic background of comprehensive assessment programs, with…

Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretations of student, school, district, and state testing data can be improved by customizing the traditional norm-referenced test. Improvements that can be made include: (1) increasing the relevance of the test to the curriculum and (2) having greater confidence in the national comparative…

This document contains five papers describing the customization of the achievement testing program for Palm Beach County (Florida) Schools. They are as follows: "Customized Achievement Testing Programs" (S. Jean Jolly); "Using the Rasch Model to Develop Curriculum-Referenced Norms" (R. Robert Rentz); "Matching Standardized…

In the spring of 1986, New York City began using the Metropolitan Achievement Test-6 (MAT-6) series to assess achievement in mathematics as part of a continuing end-of-year testing program. During the first two years of the program, appropriate levels of the shelf version of MAT-6 (Forms L and M) were administered to second through eighth graders.…

Increasing numbers of state-mandated testing programs have resulted in the selection of norm-referenced tests (NRTs) for statewide assessment. Adaptation or customization of existing tests has become a viable solution for individual programs. Changes in test instruments have arisen from the behaviorist approach and mastery learning, minimum…

Criterion-referenced testing (CRT) is defined as a method of ascertaining an individual's status with respect to some performance standard. Computer-assisted testing (CAT) is a method of constructing tests using a variety of computer techniques such as a single test computer printouts, stored item banks, teacher specified criteria, machine…

Hawaii uses the eighth edition of the Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford 8) to assess academic performance of the student population in grades 3, 6, 8, and 10. Hawaii was not included in the norming for the Stanford 8, neither for the national nor the Pacific norms. In this study, Hawaii norms were developed based on the Stanford 8 reading and…

The approach to assessment taken by the Colorado Springs (Colorado) Public Schools is outlined. Colorado Springs has taken a position similar to that advocated by the National Council on Educational Standards, that of multiple means of assessment applied in a dynamic and responsive manner. This approach in Colorado Springs is called Purpose Driven…

This document provides basic information about the Statewide Student Assessment System in New Mexico. There are four components of the Statewide Student Assessment System that are guided by the State Department of Education. Each component serves a specific purpose and targets specific grade levels. The purpose of the reading assessment of grades…