Thirty-five tests which measure cognitive abilities at the intermediate grade level and the related manual are intended to accompany the authors' 1973 monograph, "A Structure of Concept Attainment Abilities." Additional tests which measure these abilities (verbal, induction, memory, spatial, numerical, perceptual speed, evaluation, word fluency,…

This report is the result of a field test of "Health Service Careers" curriculum materials developed and published by the Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center, Oklahoma State Department of Vocational Technical Education. The results and conclusions reported in the study relate to student achievement and teacher evaluations and…

Focusing on the use of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) with Project Follow Through evaluations, this report represents an extended discussion of the appropriateness of standardized tests for evaluation and policy research. First, the development of the MAT and its roots in the Army Alpha intelligence test are described in detail. The next…

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…

The objectives of this booklet are to provide suggestions, procedures, and rules of thumb to aid the evaluator in using achievement tests in program evaluation. It also discusses some of the theories underlying the procedures for developing and selecting achievement tests and interpreting their results. Each of the six chapters offers advice on…

THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE FRENCH, GERMAN, AND SPANISH SKILL TESTS OF THE MLA COOPERATIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TESTS AND THE MLA PROFICIENCY TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND ADVANCED STUDENTS MEASURE ALONG A CONTINUUM OR WHETHER…

The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has been subjected to construct validation in a number of studies relating it to the development of moral judgment and to measures of cognitive development and political attitudes. The DIT has been found to have significant positive correlations with the Comprehension of Social-Moral Concepts Test for a variety of…

Problems in the interpretation of standardized tests used to group children of limited backgrounds, cultural bias in tests, and the misuse of tests are considered. Reports on the use of specific tests with disadvantaged students are reviewed and some of the efforts being made to provide better interpretive data are discussed. Alternative…

Some of the controversial issues involved in the use of objective tests by institutions of higher education, as this use affects the selection and attendance by members of minority groups, are reviewed. Admissions committees now rely on the ability of a test to predict students' performance at their institution to guide their selection. However,…

This paper reviews 15 research studies that: (1) examined effects of particular accommodations or groups of accommodations on performance: and (2) employed experimental and quasi-experimental research designs that allowed examination of the effect of the accommodation(s) on English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs. Studies looked at one or…

A study investigated the effect of test item type (multiple-choice or open-ended) on performance reading comprehension tests given in both the student's native language and a second language. Subjects were 24 native Arabic-speaking and 38 native Hebrew-speaking students at Haifa University (Israel), all enrolled in a course in English as a second…

Gives examples of major sources of unreliability in multiple choice items in health professions classroom achievement tests (clues to response combinations, mutually exclusive alternatives, implausible distractors) and offers some suggestions for eliminating them when writing such tests. (MF)

The purpose of this article is to describe the development, validation and use of the "Constructivist Multimedia Learning Environment Survey" (CMLES). This questionnaire assesses teachers' and students' perceptions of the learning environment when students use online multimedia programs while teachers use constructivism as a referent for…

This paper traces developments in educational psychology and measurement that led to the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the application of educational measurement terms such as validity and reliability to testing. Use of a table of specifications for planning…

The concept of performance levels in criterion-referenced assessment is explored by applying the idea to different types of tests commonly used in schools, mastery tests (including diagnostic tests) and achievement tests. In mastery tests, a threshold performance standard must be established for each criterion. Attainment of this threshold…