This article investigates several questions regarding the impact of different item formats on measurement characteristics. Constructed response (CR) items and multiple choice (MC) items obviously differ in their formats and in the resources needed to score them. As such, they have been the subject of considerable discussion regarding the impact of…

Attempts to fill research gap on testing by obtaining comparisons of deviation scores, at grade levels four, seven, and ten, from the California Test of Mental Maturity, Henmon-Nelson Tests, and Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence tests. Results tabulated. (CJ)

When 2006 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores were released in March 2007, there were many questions about the comparability of the 2006 test to earlier ISATs. The 2006 ISAT was a new test, with new items, a new format, new timing requirements, and new scoring procedures. Many people were skeptical about whether it was appropriate to…

In a previous study, (ED 038 175) Mississippi children, who were a year younger (3 1/2 to 4 1/2) than Alabama children, had scored higher than the Alabama children on posttesting. This supplementary report gives the results of further investigation of this finding. Explanations may be: (1) the younger children began with higher IQ scores; (2) more…

Problems of scale typically arise when comparing test score trends, gaps, and gap trends across different tests. To overcome some of these difficulties, we can express the difference between the observed test performance of two groups with graphs or statistics that are metric-free (i.e., invariant under positive monotonic transformations of the…

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…

The focus of this study was to assess the 17-year-olds' ability to read functional reading tasks and to provide change if and where needed. This was a project between the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin High Schools (MFHS) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the area of reading. Two hundred fourteen 17-year-olds were randomly…

PREKINDERGARTENS IN 8 NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL SYSTEMS WERE EVALUATED TO FIND OUT IF THE CHILDREN INVOLVED SHOWED INCREASED CAPACITY TO LEARN, AND IMPROVEMENT IN LANGUAGE AND COGNITIVE SKILLS. 1010 DISADVANTAGED AND 225 NONDISADVANTAGED SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS AND PRE- AND POST-TESTED WITH THE STANFORD-BINET…

This study compared the ability of the ACT Assessment Battery (ACT), the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and six other variables to predict first semester Grade Point Average (GPA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a "highly selective midwestern university". Additional purposes were to determine: (1) the effect of using…

The increased use of criterion-referenced statewide testing programs is an outgrowth of the need for more diagnostic information for planning and decision making than is provided by norm-referenced programs. There remains, however, a need for state agencies to compare the results of local districts to a variety of comparison groups for the purpose…

Recent trends in achievement test scores among elementary and secondary school students in Iowa are examined. Form 7 of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) was used to measure the achievement of students in grades 3 and 7; and Form X-7 of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) was used for 11th graders. These grade levels were chosen…

This report of the results of the 1974-75 Florida National Assessment Replication in reading and mathematics at the 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old age levels consists of several major parts: an overview of the assessment design and methodology, comparisons of performance levels for groups of Florida students within each age level, comparisons of…