Specific recommendations are made concerning the circumstances under which the benefits of out-of-level testing outweigh the problems associated with it. Topics explored are: various methods for deciding when a set of test scores is invalid and the utility of these methods for local evaluators, the accuracy of vertical scaling, and the usefulness…

The study was concerned with the merits of functional level versus nominal level achievement testing. The reliability of test scores when students were tested at their functional levels rather than their nominal levels was examined. Motivation and frustration of students was studied during testing at their functional levels. Another goal of the…

Argues that the basic problem with standardized tests to test Mexican American students is that they lack "ethnic validity": they do not accurately or appropriately account for cultural, linguistic, or experiential ethnic differences. (Author/JM)

Examines confusions that result from the use of the words "standardization,""reliability,""objectivity," and "validity" in connection with testing. (IRT)

Present discussion concerns the use rather than the content of tests. Four models of fair selection of tests are presented which describe the complexities of test fairness. Implications for the selection procedures practiced in our country are discussed. (Author/AM)

The primary sample for Year 11 of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was selected in March 1979, and was preceded by an 18-month planning effort. During the planning period, research concentrated in five specific areas: sampling frame construction, stratification criteria, efficiency study review, techniques and computer…

Six measurement-related problems which face educators attempting to implement minimum competency-oriented instruction (MC-OI) are isolated. They are: (1) choosing appropriate competencies to measure; (2) acquiring appropriate tests; (3) setting standards for MC-OI; (4) selecting suitable sanctions; (5) providing equidifficult examination…

Today, in this country, there is widespread public support for educational testing, evidenced by the large amount of state minimum competency testing legislation, and recent public opinion surveys. Despite a basically favorable view of standardized testing, parents are concerned about the effects of test anxiety and poor test-taking skills on…

The standardized IQ tests which are in use in the schools are scientifically and pedagogically without merit. The construct "intelligence" is a hypothetical notion whose valid expression has yet to be born. IQ tests and the construct of intelligence can be discarded at present, and teaching strategies would be unaffected. To successful teachers…

Discussed are issues involved in testing the mental abilities of nonWestern, nonurban ethnic groups. Within this context the paper reviews conceptions of intelligence and intellectual potential, prediction under fixed and adaptive conditions, the question of environmental influences, and some formal test factors. Examples are drawn from African…

This paper focuses on certain technical aspects of reading-program evaluation, noting the differences in decision-making requirements and data-collection procedures between local administrators and State and Federal evaluators. The paper discusses the following differences in decision-making requirements: evaluating groups or individuals,…

These newsletters, produced during the second year of activity of a standing committee of the National Council of Teachers of English, focus on standardized testing as it affects the teaching of English. The first newsletter describes committee activities and priorities and includes a bibliography of information on tests and evaluation. The other…

Biased tests systematically favor some groups over others as a result of factors not part of what the test is said to measure. Bias is basically a problem of differential validity. Validity can be discussed in terms of either the procedures for establishing it or test use. Both ways clarify bias in any test. For content and construct validity, the…

The annotated bibliography on nondiscriminatory testing contains approximately 75 abstracts and associated indexing information for documents published from 1962 to 1974 and selected from the computer files of the Council for Exceptional Children's Information Services and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Citations are…

One formulation of confidence scoring requires the examinee to indicate as a number his personal probability of the correctness of each alternative in a multiple-choice test. For this formulation, a linear transformation of the logarithm of the correct response is maximized if the examinee reports accurately his personal probability. To equate…