The logical and psychological bases for setting cutting scores for criterion-referenced tests are examined; they are found to be intrinsically arbitrary and are often examples of misdirected precision and axiomatization. The term, criterion referenced, originally referred to a technique for making test scores meaningful by controlling the test…

First-year graduate students were asked to respond to a biographical questionnaire which emphasized motivational variables in addition to the usual demographic variables. It was hypothesized that the students could select from a group of ability measures the one best indicator of how well they would do in graduate school. To test this hypothesis…

The Portland Board of Education had requested that the Oregon Central Evaluation Department provide student achievement data so as to allow comparisons with other school districts by reporting national grade level equivalent (GLE) scores on standardized tests of reading and mathematics for grades 4 and 8. For years, the position of most research…

In recent years the American College Test (ACT) score decline has been largely due to the changed pool of test-takers if the limited data studied here have applicability to the national scene. Data from state testing programs and the National Assessment of Educational Progress were used to determine who takes the test and how well prepared they…

The 1971-72 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) provided information on 22 measures of students and schools. While some of the data were gathered in routine Michigan Department of Education reports, mean socioeconomic status (SES) for each school and student performance data were gathered in a special endeavor during January 1972. The…

The volume of test-norms and expectancy tables is intended as a tool for counselors in counseling individuals. The work contains a chapter on test interpretation to assist the counselor in relating individual test scores to other information about the individual. In the Minnesota Norms section of the tables, there are no data at the elementary…

The two major purposes of this study are: (1) To provide local school officials with information regarding the performance on basic skills achievement of each student who took the 1970-71 Michigan Educational Assessment Battery, and (2) To provide local officials with information that will assist them in understanding and interpreting their…

The stability of reading performance, as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, and Iowa Tests of Educational Development, was studied using students in grades 1 through 7 and grades 9 and 11. A reading vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test are included in all three test batteries. The standard…

The general objective of a research program on adaptive testing was to identify several sources of potential error in test scores, and to study adaptive testing as a means for reducing these errors. Errors can result from the mismatch of item difficulty to the individual's ability; the psychological effects of testing and the test environment; the…

Presents a state-by-state report of vital school statistics in the following categories: per-pupil expenditures; average teacher salaries; federal, state, and local funding percentages; per capita income; poverty percentages; pupil-teacher ratios; enrollment; minority characteristics; and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Contains six charts that…

Describes development of a comprehensive computer literacy assessment battery for K-12 curriculum based on objectives of a curriculum implemented in the Worldwide Department of Defense Dependents Schools system. Test development and field test data are discussed and a correlational analysis which assists in interpretation of test results is…

Stressed by high poverty levels, a low tax base and low teacher salaries, the East Feliciana School District competes, most often unsuccessfully, with neighboring districts and states, and with a relatively segregated white academy system for qualified teachers and pupil resources. Consequently, at the dawn of the federal government's landmark…

Every year, thousands of new teachers pass through hundreds of different teacher preparation programs and are hired to teach in the nation's schools. In recent years, alternative programs have expanded rapidly. Despite the expansion of these new routes into teaching, little research exists to provide guidance on the effectiveness of different…

This document, from the Arizona Minority Education Policy Analysis Center (AMEPAC), reports the educational achievement of minority students in Arizona, from kindergarten through college. As a snapshot it is simply a description of what is, and the data are, thus, open to interpretation. How the numbers look and what they mean may be two different…

This document, a companion to the "LAS Guide Principles and Criteria for the Adoption of Local Assessment Systems," [ED484135] presents results that are intended to provide Maine's school administrative units with an option for selecting sample performance indicators to be assessed through the Local Assessment System to meet the…