This study investigated six statistical merit school selection methods using student scores on a nationally normed, standardized achievement test to identify merit schools. More specifically, its purpose was to select a method for the Palm Beach County School system which meets the Florida merit school program criterion of fairness in terms of…

This paper reviews recent research in the Netherlands on the application of decision theory to test-based decision making about personnel selection and student placement. The review is based on an earlier model proposed for the classification of decision problems, and emphasizes an empirical Bayesian framework. Classification decisions with…

In April of each year, North Carolina students in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 9th grades participate in the state's Annual Testing Program. In 1984, the California Achievement Tests in reading, mathematics, language, and spelling were administered. This publication reports student performance for years 1981 through 1984. The body of the report is…

During the summer of 1983, 77 community college students enrolled in English composition courses were administered the Nelson Denny Test during the first week of the summer session and just prior to final examinations to: determine reading ability and grade equivalences in reading; ascertain if there were relationships between academic achievement…

There is no conclusive evidence as yet that television has provided sufficient cause for the decline in scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and other measures of academic achievement or aptitude, although it may be one of several elements in a complex causal system. The major studies show that television viewing, after the early school years,…

To determine the concurrent validity of a standardized test and its usefulness to educators, reading ratings from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were compared to teacher ratings and independently administered placement test ratings. Two hundred one primary children, the majority of whom read one or more years below grade level, took the ITBS by a…

In a program of Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI), where a student's progress through each level of a program of study is governed by his performance on a test dealing with individual behavioral objectives, there is considerable value in keeping the number of items on each test at a minimum. The specified test length for each objective…

At Kings River Community College, analyses were conducted of the grades and characteristics of students in Mathematics A (Elementary Algebra), Mathematics B (Plane Geometry), Mathematics C (Trigonometry), and Mathematics D (Intermediate Algebra) to determine which variables were significantly related to student success. Data were gathered on 69…

This is a needs assessment of educationally disadvantaged students in Seattle, Washington for 1976-77. The report includes data on the following: (1) the distribution of low achievers by grade, sex, ethnic group, and school administrative area; (2) the distribution of achievement test scores of low achievers by subject, grade, and administrative…

Administrative and technical problems were encountered in carrying out a minimum competency program for high school students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. The history of required minimum competency testing was reviewed briefly, and the process of clarifying and operationalizing the requirements was described within the Austin…

Nineteen tables are presented, together with a brief discussion, showing the results of the College Entrance Examination Board's 1978 Admissions Testing Program, including Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), achievement tests, and Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) score distributions, and results of the Student Descriptive Questionnaire. A…

Intended primarily for local education agency evaluators and state education policy makers, this paper explores several technical and policy issues related to the use of non-normed tests in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS). The technical issues discussed were: (1) the assumption, necessary…

The nature and common uses of standardized achievement tests are described and placed in context in order to evaluate claims and criticisms that are commonly made. Tests are described as samples of behavior and hence subject to sampling errors. Much of the debate is dominated by emotion and prejudices. There is very little empirical evidence about…

Studies conducted by the United States Military Academy and Air Force Academy showed that many cadets who had attended preparatory schools which prepared high school graduates for college admission performed below what had been predicted by their scores on college entrance examinations. Based on these findings, about 1,200 students from 10…

This study developed a two-parameter linear probabilistic model of criterion referenced measurement, which relates an examinee's observed ability to his true ability through a guessing parameter and a carelessness parameter, both of which are probabilities. This model was applied to a survey of 10- and 14-year-old Australian students to estimate…