Three procedures that help to determine the degree of confidence we can place in any raw score are discussed: computing the standard error of measurement, computing the estimated true score, and constructing confidence intervals. These three procedures are easy to use and require only elementary mathematical skills. (Author/CL)

The first of a series of quizzes on types of derived scores concerns interpreting grade-equivalent (GE) scores. The true-false items require a response about whether the stated interpretation of the GE score is sound. An answer key explains specific scoring methods. (CM)

Parents of gifted children are urged to understand that there are many different kinds of intelligence and ability tests; tests are designed for different purposes; all tests involve a certain amount of error; and tests only sample one aspect of a child's performance. (DB)

This handbook will assist principals and school testing coordinators in implementing the spring 2007 administration of the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Information regarding administration timeline, reporting, process, online tools and contact personnel is discussed. Contents include: (1) Scheduling; (2) Identify Primary Test…

Guidelines are proposed for reviewing career interest tests, aptitude tests, and achievement tests for sex bias in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments 1972. To review the tests, several recommendations are made: analyze the test; review the technical manuals and interpretive information; examine and classify test items, reading…

Describes the Child Abuse Potential Inventory and associated psychometric data. Discusses uses and misuses of the inventory, general test limitations, and screening instruments available to professionals concerned with child maltreatment. (RJC)

This paper focuses on challenges to psychologists and psychology graduate students who are blind or visually impaired in the administration and scoring of various psychological tests. Organized by specific tests, the paper highlights those aspects of testing which pose particular difficulty to testers with visual impairments and also describes…

Procedures for conducting functional level testing have been available for use by practitioners for some time. However, the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS), developed in response to the educational amendments of 1974 to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), has provided the impetus for widespread adoption of this…

This booklet addresses the role of testing in today's public education system, and presents a series of questions and answers which will be of particular interest to school board members, legislators, lawyers and journalists. These questions are grouped into two major categories: (1) test purposes and users; and (2) current testing issues. Current…

This paper is based on guidelines developed in 1989 for training workshops for state and local educators to demonstrate the processes by which performance assessments could be created, validated, and used in statewide assessment programs. These guidelines are based on work with the National Assessment of Educational Progress and several statewide…

The widely used Woodcock Johnson (WJ) Test of Achievement has been separated into two distinct tests, Achievement and Cognitive Abilities. This book is designed to help busy mental health professionals acquire the knowledge and skills they need to use the third revision of the WJ Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH) , including administration,…

Testing and assessment have become extremely important components of the educational program. The purpose of this position paper is to provide factual and policy-related information that may be of use to school boards as they design or improve their districts' testing and assessment policies. It is the New York State policy that school boards…

Current scoring procedures depend on unrealistic assumptions about subjects' performance on the rod-and-frame test. A procedure is presented which corrects for constant error, is sensitive to response strategy and consistency, and examines qualitative and quantitative aspects of performance and individual differences in laterality bias as defined…

General guidelines exist for reporting and interpreting test scores, but there are short comings in the available technology, especially when applied to criterion-referenced tests. Concerns that have been expressed in the educational measurement literature address the uses of test scores, the manner of reporting scores, limited testing knowledge…

The cautions needed for correctly interpreting grade equivalent scores are presented simply, for persons who are not statisticians. Four potential limitations of grade equivalent scores are summarized. (1) Comparisons across grades are of little value when the subject content is not the same; for example, sixth grade American history is not…