The study prepared reading tests in the children's first language, Spanish, that initially considered their comprehension of the language and subsequently evaluated their skill in drawing inferences or pertinent information from the material read. Two reading comprehension tests (Forms A and B) were constructed, using two different excerpts from…

Annotations of twenty English placement tests are presented, providing for each a general description, information on content, publication of results, diagnostic capabilities, and predictability. Tests are arranged in three categories: (1) standardized English placement tests, including The College English Placement Test, Comparative Guidance and…

Assessment programs like the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) continue to play an important role in the admission decisions of many colleges. In many cases, they also serve a meaningful counseling and guidance function for high schools and colleges. The data reported in this paper suggest that the two programs can…

Two types of sensitivity indices were developed in this paper, one internal to the total test and the second external. To evaluate the success of these statistics the three criteria suggested for a satisfactory index of item quality were considered. The Internal Sensitivity Index appears to meet these demands. Certainly it is easily computed. In…

Research which resulted in the development of the United States Employment Service Specific Aptitude Test Battery for use in selecting inexperienced and untrained individuals for training as nurse aids is described. Occupational norms were established in terms of each significant aptitude measure which when combined, predict job performance.…

Under the California Assembly Bill 665 of 1972, the state assessment program must test all students in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 in reading skills, and those in grades 6 and 12 to assess their skills in effectiveness of written expression, spelling, and mathematics. The state may develop its own tests, and a matrix sampling approach may be used…

The development of a Competency Based Teacher Certification System is a cooperative effort of the Carroll County System and the School of Education, West Georgia College, supported by a grant from the Georgia State Department of Education. As a step toward solving the problem of recertifying teachers who possess basic credentials and have taught…

Early language aptitude tests were generally tests of ability in English or work-sample tests in the target language or an artificial language. Recent work has involved various correlational studies and factor analyses to determine what factors correlate most with success in foreign language learning. Approaches include: (1) correlations of…

The document is the second of a five-part series focusing in minute detail on the processes involved in the formulation of an instructional systems development (ISD) program for military interservice training that will adequately train individuals to do a particular job. Phase II, Design, is concerned with designing instructional materials based…

A number of strategies are described for adapting ability test items to individual differences in ability levels of testees. Each strategy consists of a different set of rules for selecting the sequence of test items to be administered to a given testee. Advantages and disadvantages of each strategy are discussed, and research issues unique to the…

A computer-based test administration and monitoring system developed at the University of Delaware is described. Using six terminals connected to a Burroughs B-6700 computer, the system provides numerous capabilities for interactive testing and evaluation of students' course learning, while also providing statistical data to faculty in a variety…

In this paper, several models for the psychometric nature of criterion-referenced tests are presented and results derived with implications for test construction, reliability and validity measures, and educational decision making. Both dichotomous and continuous underlying abilities to perform are considered. Illustrative data fitting both cases…

To provide information on performance and characteristics of effective and ineffective marginal personnel in the Army, a study has been made of approximately 1,500 men with experience ranging up to 20 years in four different Army MOSs. The study included a group of men with Armed Forces Qualification Test scores in the marginal range and a…

Techniques for developing and using informal reading inventories are listed. Concepts and purposes of the inventory are suggested, and reading levels are defined. Suggestions are offered for individual and group inventories, material preparation and analysis, question formation and selection, methods of scoring and recording, and methods of…

A 15-stage pyramidal test and a 40-item two-stage test were constructed and administered by computer to 111 college undergraduates. The two-stage test was found to utilize a smaller proportion of its potential score range than the pyramidal test. Score distributions for both tests were positively skewed but not significantly different from the…