The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Third Edition (GARS-3) is a norm-referenced tool designed to screen for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in individuals between the ages of 3 and 22 (Gilliam, 2014). The GARS-3 test kit consists of three different components and includes an "Examiner's Manual," summary/response forms (50), and the…

The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing-Second Edition (CTOPP-2; Wagner, Torgesen, Rashotte, & Pearson, 2013) is a norm-referenced test that measures phonological processing skills related to reading for individuals aged 4 to 24. According to its authors, the CTOPP-2 may be used to identify individuals who are markedly below their…

This article reviews Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS) which are designed to measure behaviors in children between the ages of 2 and 18 that are associated with disorders on the autism spectrum as rated by parents/caregivers and/or teachers. The rating scales include items related to behaviors associated with Autism, Asperger's Disorder, and…

The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2) is a screening tool for autism spectrum disorders for individuals between the ages of 3 and 22. It was designed to help differentiate those with autism from those with severe behavioral disorders as well as from those who are typically developing. It is a norm-referenced instrument that…

This National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) module is designed to help teachers understand test reliability requirements. Focus is on the reliability of scores from teacher-made achievement tests used for interpreting norm-referenced scores. Reliability, factors affecting scores, reliability estimation methods, reliability's relation…

Author replies to article TM 500 559. (MB)

Some basic statistical concepts relevant to the teacher--mean scores, standard deviation, normal and skewed distributions, z scores, item analysis, standard error of measurement, reliability--and their use by the teacher are explained. (RM)

A recommendation to renorm the Bayley Scales of Infant Development is based on (1) high scores obtained on infants in rural North Carolina (N=305); (2) published means for other samples of infants born in the 1970s; (3) recent age placement revisions of items on the Gesell Developmental Examination. (Author/JW)

Using the assumption of randomly parallel tests and concepts from generalizability theory, three signal/noise ratios for domain-referenced tests are developed, discussed, and compared. The three ratios have the same noise but different signals depending upon the kind of decision to be made as a result of measurement. (Author/JKS)

Present definitions of the criterion-referenced test are discussed, insufficiences noted, and a new definition proposed. Some examples of criterion-referenced tests are examined and used to educe some general principles for the development of such tests. The utility of item form processes is assessed. It is suggested that the difficulty of…

This experiment was designed to assess the ability of item writers to construct truly parallel tests based on a "duplicate-construction experiment" in which Cronbach argues that if the universe description and sampling are ideally refined, the two independently constructed tests will be entirely equivalent, and that within the limits of item…

This article is a reply to a previous paper (see TM 500 488) interpreting Livingston's original article (see TM 500 487). (CK)

Two forms of a test of consumer competency, developed as valid, reliable, normed tests in consumer education, were given to Illinois public school students in grades 8-12. A comparison of mean scores indicated that students who had completed a consumer education course scored higher on both test forms than those who had not. Test results are shown…

Argues that there is room for both those tests that focus on stable between-individual gains, and discusses how to evaluate a test along both the psychometric and edumetric dimensions. (Author/JM)

A reliability coefficient for criterion-referenced tests is developed from the assumptions of classical test theory. The coefficient is based on deviations of scores from the criterion score, rather than from the mean. (Author/CK)