Extended caution indices (ECI) specify the degree of confidence that can be placed in an individual's test score by analyzing patterns of item response. Among the most promising of such indices are the standardized ECIs. Contrary to the literature, several instances were found, in a previous study, of nonnormal distributions of ECIs with samples…

These studies in test adequacy focus on two problems: procedures for estimating reliability, and techniques for identifying ineffective distractors. Fourteen papers are presented on recent advances in measuring achievement (a response to Molenaar); "an extension of the Dirichlet-multinomial model that allows true score and guessing to be…

The research literature on oral achievement testing is reviewed, and advantages and disadvantages of oral tests are described. A number of suggestions are made for improving the objectivity, reliability, and validity of oral tests. The results of a survey of the attitudes and experiences of a selected sample of college students with regard to…

This booklet is designed for elementary and middle school teachers to use in teaching students how to improve their test-taking skills. The authors draw the analogy between an athlete preparing for the big race and a young student getting ready for an important test. The central character is an underdeveloped test-taking tiger who, after going…

This study was designed to increase knowledge of the functioning of item bias techniques in detecting biased items. Previous studies have used computer-generated data or real data with unknown amounts of bias. The present project extends previous studies by using items that are logically generated and subjectively evaluated a priori to be biased…

The College Board has identified several basic intellectual competencies thought to be essential for effective work in all fields of college study, among them listening and speaking. An issue that arises in connection with these competencies is the availability of suitable measures to assess students' development in these areas. This report…

This table presents the 90th, 75th, 50th 25th and tenth percentile groupings for the verbal and mathematical scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reported during the ten-year period between 1966-67 and 1975-76. A testing year is defined as extending from September to August; data are collected without regard to educational level or the…

This table provides the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the Achievement Test means and standard deviations for samples of candidates taking each of the 15 achievement tests offered in the Admissions Testing Program battery during the period 1966-67 to 1975-76. The samples, drawn annually through 1971-72 and biennially thereafter, provide…

Quality Education plays a key role in altering the oppressive conditions that affect blacks. The education of black people must, if it is to be education, promote the power, privilege and prestige of black people. Factors critical to the education of black children are testing; the curriculum, in particular the teaching of reading; teacher…

Two studies are presented in this report. The first is titled "Empirical Studies of Multilevel Approaches to Test Development and Interpretation: Measuring Between-Group Differences in Instruction." Because of a belief that schooling does affect student achievement, researchers have questioned the empirical and measurement techniques…

The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of measures of student writing performance across types of discourse (genres) and across response modes (selected response: multiple choice; constructed response: single paragraph, and full length essay). The study addressed the following: (1) the relationship/stability of writing scores…

The paper examines aspects involved in providing an accurate evaluation of speech and language of culturally different preschool children. Dialectical differences of Spanish and Black English speakers are detailed. Culturally based nonverbal behaviors and situational factors, including touching behavior and eye contact, are considered. Cultural…

Achievement assessment has recently become an issue of major public concern. Concurrent with demands which have placed increased reliance on measurement and assessment have been criticisms of present testing practices. The effects of sociocultural and motivation variables on achievement patterns of 7,000 Illinois school children were investigated.…

Undergraduates responded to an objective test in electronics and classified each item by domain (one of 14 topics covered in their text), and by type of knowledge (definition, fact, principle, or interpretation). These judgments were compared to their instructor's "standard" judgments. From these data, an index of item-domain divergence…

This book is based on a national invitational colloquium that took place in March, 1979, at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. The colloquium was sponsored by the College Board in cooperation with the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) of the Big Ten Universities and the University of Chicago. It afforded an opportunity for…