To assess the stability of the Scholastic Aptitude Test verbal score scale SAT--V, 1963 and 1973 forms of the SAT--V were administered in counterbalanced order to spaced samples of the same group. The 1973 scores were placed on the reporting scale used for the 1963 form. The experimentally derived scores on the 1963 scale were compared with their…

Discussions of any test must focus on reliability, content validity, and interpretation of results. In this critique of On Further Examination--the report of the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Score Decline--the National Education Association (NEA) finds no fault with the reliability of the SAT. Its content validity, however,…

The experiment reported measured the degree to which cloze tests deliberately biased on the basis of contrastive analysis would actually be harder for Vietnamese than for speakers of other languages. The experiment tested the approach to ESL (English as a second language) for Vietnamese described in a guide for teachers of Vietnamese refugees…

This set of four research reports is a product of the Mathemagenic Activities Program (MAP) for early childhood education of the University of Georgia Follow Through Program. Based on Piagetian theory, the MAP provides sequentially structured sets of curriculum materials and processes that are designed to continually challenge children in…

It is the author's thesis that children's intellectual rights are denied in U.S. public education because creativity and self-motivated inquiry are discouraged. As a result of standardized testing, learning tends to be defined in terms of the retention of specific facts. Higher cognitive processes such as abstract reasoning, problem solving, and…

Two aspects of criterion referenced testing are discussed: cutting scores and test length. Several practices in determining passing scores are enumerated: (1) setting passing scores so that a predetermined percent of students pass; (2) inspecting each test item to determine how important it is that it be answered correctly; (3) determining the…

This paper explores historical, behavioral, and cultural aspects of cross-cultural assessment as background to a discussion of alternative approaches to I.Q. testing as a way of identifying gifted minority children. Chapter I, "Cross Cultural Assessment in Historical Perspective," is a historical look at cross-racial attitudes on intelligence and…

The Lake Harriet Elementary School Open Classroom was initiated at the request of parents in the summer of 1973. The program was implemented in the fall of 1973. This evaluation indicates that, after the first year of operation, the original goals for the program are being met: The students, for the most part, are performing at normal or above…

Chicano and Amerindian vocabulary scale responses from the Stanford-Binet (LM) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were item-analyzed for 1,009 subjects. The response patterns differed both by ethnic group and test, as well as by age. The most common, and recurring, pattern found was "level-of-difficulty" gradient…

In this paper, the author reviews a number of criticisms that have been made of the use of standardized tests in the social studies and reviews 11 general, skills, and discipline-oriented standardized tests for social studies. Standardized tests evaluating the results of the new social studies courses are open to criticism on the basis of…

Data available from the Fall and Spring administration of the Stanford Achievement Test: Intermediate I: Form X and the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test for all Title I pupils in the State of New Hampshire plus a random sample for the entire state, made possible the item-by-item comparison of Fall and Spring performance on the same groups of…

Controversies centering around the accuracy of the estimates made of bilingual children's intellectual functioning and the effectiveness of prescriptive programs recommended for their subsequent development have resulted in the investigation and assessment of different instruments used for student placement in special education classes. The three…

The content of this book is embedded in two historical frameworks. The first is the history of American education in which the basic underlying premise is that education is a means of achieving equality in our society. The other is the development of educational research in the United States which was founded on a deep conviction that one could…

This handbook was designed to assist practicing vocational educators in planning and preparing performance measures for evaluating the behavioral outcomes of instruction. It is particularly concerned with fulfilling the needs of individuals involved in manpower development and training programs. The nature of and need for performance testing is…

All measures presently available for first, third, fifth, and sixth grade testing were evaluated according to the MEAN procedure which reflects measurement validity, examinee appropriateness, administrative usability, and normed technical excellence. Major shortcomings of these measures are presented. A factor analysis revealed four dimensions…