A study developed and validated measures that can be used to assess the effectiveness of the change from an industrial arts teacher education program to technology teacher education. A modified three-phase Delphi design was used to answer two questions: (1) Is the program technology teacher education (i.e., has the change progressed to the point…

The document consists of a 125-item evaluation instrument for use in assessing the overall plan and quality of programs in the area of serious emotional disturbance (SED) or behavior disorders. Questions are organized according to the following nine categories (based on identified components of a well-designed SED program): (1) respondent and…

In 1977, the Dallas, Texas Independent School District modified its teacher selection criteria. In addition to the previously used evaluation criteria involving transcripts, references and evaluations, three new measures were employed: (1) a test of verbal and quantitative ability, the Wesman Personnel Classification Test (WPCT), which was later…

This paper examines possible explanations for the fact that evaluation results are rarely used. Most explanatory factors for use of results in decision making mentioned in the literature have been clustered in three categories of variables. They concern: (1) the making of decisions about the practical problem; (2) the way in which evaluation is…

A retrospective self-assessment used with 22 county Extension agents from western Washington who had participated in a three-day inservice education program in agronomy was evaluated. Each participant was asked to draw an S on a Likert-type scale to indicate where each person started at the beginning of the workshop and an N where they perceived…

An aim of many students of human development is to penetrate behavioral variability in such a way as to reveal stable phenomena. This broad aim is challenged on numerous fronts when researchers study infant behavior, for students of infants are everywhere confronted with variability. But, in the context of research, variability of subjects'…

Data from the areas of job satisfaction and job stress are used to illustrate the following points: (1) that measurements can be arranged conceptually along a continuum from the specific to the global (or general); (2) that scales can be constructed which represent different levels of generality, within the same content area; (3) that such scales…

The Alaska Statewide Assessment Test (ASAT) in reading and math is administered to fourth and eighth graders every two years. This document contains three separate assessment reports generally titled "An Update on the Alaska Statewide Testing Program." Assessment Report 8, "The Interpretive Panels Look at Results," lists…

This paper overviews technical developments in data analysis procedures for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading data during 1984. The highlight of the reshaping of the NAEP data has been the scaling using item response theory (IRT). AT this point in the data analysis, an IRT-based scale appears appropriate for reading…

This module contains resource materials to help vocational education teachers construct effective written tests. (The materials supplement the videotape on "Written Test Construction.") Materials in the packet include guidelines for developing written tests in general and specific guidelines for the five major types of test items, brief…

A project was conducted to identify content for the development of a science skill inventory. This instrument is intended to measure teacher perceptions of the science skills needed by students for optimum success in secondary vocational programs. The resources of four college and university libraries, various curriculum and media centers, and…

This article presents the perspective that the quality of teacher-made, small classroom tests has not improved, and may have declined in recent years. This decline may be due to the fact that teachers have come to believe that the kinds of objective items used in national standardized tests are the only item types appropriate for classroom use.…

This report describes the procedures used to construct and validate the Standardized Test of Computer Literacy (STCL), a criterion-referenced instrument designed to assess students' computer literacy. Following a statement of the study problem and purpose, a description of the study methodology outlines the use of a 12-step model for development…

Field tests of test items are useful in developing cutting scores for important tests, such as teacher certification examinations and high school graduation tests, because they indicate test item quality and estimate future examinee performance. However, field test data may provide a faulty indication of examinee performance on the real test.…

For many years personalization of achievement testing has been impossible in all but the simplest forms. Recently, item response theory (IRT), or latent trait theory, has emerged as a valuable tool which brings far greater flexibility to the process than had previously been possible. The single parameter Rasch Model, a mathematical model developed…