Because teachers' oral directions for group achievement tests assume that children understand numerous basic concepts, the construct validity of subtests assessing abilities other than language is questionable. Implications for teacher administration of primary level tests and suggestions for future test construction are described. (JD)

It is argued that achievement test means, based on group scores, or other district-wide summary scores do not provide valid measures for diagnosing curriculum weaknesses nor for initiating curriculum changes. Group scores are probably valid for some purposes, but should not be used as criterion variables for evaluating the effectiveness of…