The purpose of this research was to investigate the diagnostic validity of the Maryland Diagnostic Arithmetic Test (MDAT) as a group-administered test. The MDAT is a domain-referenced diagnostic test consisting of several sub-tests covering the content of elementary school arithmetic from sets to non-negative rational numbers. Forty-five…

Criterion-referenced testing is an important area in the theory and practice of educational measurement. This study demonstrated that even these tests must be closely examined for construct validity. The dimensionality of a dataset will be affected by the examinee's cognitive processes as well as by the nature of the content domain. The methods of…

Communicative competence in a given language is not guaranteed by competency in the understanding and use of linguistic structures. As part of the testing corpus of an individual's communicative competence in a second language, an oral proficiency interview may provide some insight into the individual's communicative ability in a variety of…

To replace traditional methods of minimum competency testing in personnel selection, a two stage cutting score procedure is proposed. The Angoff procedure is modified so that only a subset of test items, which assess essential job related skills, are used to determine the cutting score and to identify qualifed applicants. As a measure of item…

The paper reviews and critiques the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC) from the perspective of its utility in the assessment of adaptive behavior for special education eligibility. It is explained that the ABIC, a parent interview consisting of questions about a child's home and community activities, has recently been normed and used…

Eighty undergraduates were administered four self-report locus of control inventories, in order to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity of four categories common to these inventories: chance, fate, personal control, and powerful others. The four inventories were: (1) Internal, Powerful Others and Chance scales; (2) James Internal…

To compile a list of activities and achievements considered as creative by laymen, 239 graduate and undergraduate students named their three most creative accomplishments and activities in each of six areas: mathematics and science; music; fine arts; performing arts; literature; and miscellaneous. This resulted in a 198-item list, which was rated…

The purposes of this paper are to explore and present various opinions concerning the nature of functional literacy and the questions involved in assessing the extent to which one is or is not functionally literate, and to describe one instrument designed to measure functional literacy. The major sections of the paper provide information on the…

Because a critical issue in current assessment efforts is the widespread use of technically inadequate tests, the study examined tests chosen by 159 school professionals during a computer simulation of placement decision making about potentially handicapped students. Chi square analysis showed technically adequate devices were chosen…

This document is the third volume in a set of five Career Education Measurement Handbooks intended to help local education personnel in measurement and evaluation. Divided into seven major sections, this handbook is designed to provide practical guidelines for improving career education instruments developed at the local level. It is primarily…

RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN BY THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EFFECTS OF PRACTICE ON TEST TAKING AND THE LENGTH OF TIME BETWEEN INITIAL TESTING (PRACTICE) AND RETESTING (SEE ALSO VT 003 819). THE DESIGN INVOLVED TESTING A SAMPLE OF STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCY EMPLOYEES WITH THE GENERAL APTITUDE…

THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED BY THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE TO EXAMINE ONE ASPECT OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF APTITUDES, JOB PERFORMANCE, AND AGE -- SPECIFICALLY, TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE VALIDITY OF UNADJUSTED AND AGE-ADJUSTED GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY (GATB) APTITUDE SCORES FOR PREDICTING OCCUPATIONAL SUCCESS. ELEVEN LONGITUDINAL…

This manual sets forth comprehension guidelines and procedures for selecting instruments to measure educational growth, achievement, and outcomes. The necessary criteria are presented in a checklist format, permitting local district personnel to evaluate the worth of testing instruments before adoption. A subset of the criteria are defined as…

A review of the research literature considers the following questions: (1) what is the general quality of the information resulting from systematic student evaluation of faculty effectiveness?; and (2) what are the consequences of soliciting this information and making it available to those people who may utilize it in their decision making…

Certain conditions are investigated as to whether they are necessary or sufficient to indicate the fairness of a test, or predictor, in its role in the college admissions procedure. Eight general positions are considered that have claimed to provide sufficient conditions for the unbiasedness of a standardized test or predictor: (1) equal test…