The accuracy and fairness of standardized testing is taken very seriously in the education world. These issues are a major focus of both the testing experts who develop standardized tests and the researchers who endeavor to ensure a test's fairness, reliability, validity, and accuracy. But many issues remain both controversial and complex. The…

Since the introduction of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Third Edition (WISC-III), practitioners have raised questions concerning the equivalency of scores on the WISC-III and WISC Revised (WISC-R) in the re-evaluation of students receiving special education services. Since studies with minority students are lacking in this area, a…

This study, part of ongoing research to establish the construct validity of a science attitude assessment instrument, evaluated the instrument with 72 elementary school science teachers. The measure, "Assessment of Attitude Toward Science and Science Teaching," contains 27 statements to which the respondent expresses degrees of agreement. This…

Noting the lack of self-concept research in nonwestern cultures and the need to determine if a western measure of self-image is embedded in the same network of constructs in another culture, this study examined the appropriateness of using the Self Image Questionnaire for Young Adolescents (SIQYA) with Nigerian students. Participating in the study…

This paper presents the outcomes of a study that investigated the psychometric properties of the School Independence Measure (SIM), an assessment designed to evaluate functional performance in a school setting and to monitor changes in function over time. The SIM operationally defines and criterion references tasks essential to a child's…

This study used 1994 data from the California Community College System cohort of first-time freshmen to identify that part of University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) transfer performance that is determined by factors outside the control of college administrators. The idea was to "level the playing field" when…

This brief paper describes a literacy program for adults with mental retardation in the Boston metropolitan region developed when more than 300 individuals formally requested literacy services. Several cognitive and literacy assessments were reviewed and implemented. No one assessment was found to be sufficient to assess ranges from pre-literacy…

Author discusses and defines criterion tests in the context of classroom needs that have created much of the interest in the theory at this time. The primary source of interest is related to the growing implementation of individualized curricula. (Author/CB)

A criterion-referenced test for a beginning archery class was developed and evaluated. Techniques for estimating test validity and reliability were applied to data. A method developed by R. A. Burk (1976) was used to establish a cutoff score that would distinguish between those mastering the class and nonmasters. (Authors/PP)

Original thinking was examined in 142 middle- and lower-class children across a wide range of age (7-13 years) and intellectual ability (low average to gifted). The instruments were lenient and stringent solution-standard measures of original problem solving and two subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. (Author/PN)