In most judgmental methods for setting performance standards, content experts evaluate test items based on a conceptualization of a borderline examinee or a group of examinees. An alternative method is proposed by which judges evaluate items based on the degree of criticality regardless of content area. This classification of items serves to link…

The use of the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) was evaluated by the Florida Postsecondary Education Planning Commission. In addition to a comprehensive analysis of research studies relating to CLEP conducted in various states, CLEP policies at state universities and community colleges in Florida were examined. Perceptions of Florida…

A survey was conducted by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium of the California Community Colleges to determine the extent of community college involvement with academic standards in California. The survey investigated the relationship of the colleges to adult education, assessment practices, entrance standards for vocational and…

The U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) administered basic skills achievement tests to cadets enrolled in Military Science I (MSI) and Military Science IV (MSIV): Missouri College English Test, Nelson-Denny Reading Test, and Stanford Achievement Test: High School Mathematics. The samples adequately represented geographic regions and…

During the 1985-86 school year, an evaluation plan utilizing standardized norm-referenced test information was initiated within the Wichita Public School System in Kansas. The plan had four identifiable factors: (1) a growth measurement concept; (2) a simplified computation process; (3) a means of integration of growth measurement within user…

The 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) focuses on a sample of students enrolled in the eighth grade during the spring of 1988. Building on its predecessors (the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and High School and Beyond), the study is designed to provide trend data about the critical transitions…

This pilot test for ninth grade mathematics is written in both French and English. The test consists of 75 multiple-choice items. Students are given 90 minutes to complete the examination and the use of a calculator is highly recommended. The test content covers a wide range of mathematical topics including: decimals; exponents; arithmetic word…

This achievement test for ninth grade mathematics is written in both French and English. The test consists of 75 multiple-choice items. Students are given 90 minutes to complete the examination, with the use of calculators permitted. The test content covers a wide range of mathematical content including: positive and negative exponents; word…

The Provincial Assessment of Mathematics was conducted at grades 3, 6, 9 and 12. There are three major components to the assessment: (1) a written test of the curriculum objectives carried out in May, 1987 for grades 3, 6, and 9, and in June, 1987 for grade 12 (Mathematics 300 and Mathematics 301); (2) a survey of teachers at these grade levels;…

This paper reviews the process employed in Pennsylvania to develop, refine, select, and implement educational indicators at the state level as part of a state testing program. The indicators are used to provide meaningful comparative information for analysis and planning, to encourage school employees to make productive curricular or…

The use of item banks and item response theory has resulted in new ways to misinterpret and misuse tests through customized, yet standardized, achievement test batteries. The new test batteries create the possibility of serious misunderstandings based on the idea that any subset of items from the pool with a proper range of difficulties will…

The New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) is administered in a new form each year to all entering freshmen in New Jersey public colleges and 12 participating independent colleges. The NJCBSPT was taken by 44,344 students from March through December 1985. Test results revealed the following: (1) 26% were proficient in verbal…

Systematic activities of the guidance program at the Halstead, Kansas high school--enrollment 215--are used to illustrate what a small rural school can do to help students register and prepare for the ACT (American College Testing Program) and use test results to plan their educational futures. Halstead students' ACT scores consistently exceed…

The study reported here was intended to "round out" the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board's continuing study of special test preparation for the GRE General Test by providing information that was previously unavailable on the effects of one kind of special test preparation--self-test-familiarization for the verbal and quantitative…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was initiated in the mid-1960's to collect student achievement information over time and describe the data in ways meaningful to the nation's educational and civic leaders. This work presents the Florida perspective on how NAEP can be improved to aid educational decision-makers in the…