The additive and response patterns scoring methods within and between multiple true-false (MTF) items were examined using data for 5,000 students for each of 2 years from the mathematics portion of the national college entrance examination in Taiwan. For additive scoring at item level, response to each option was scored dichotomously and added up…

The Continuous School Improvement Questionnaire (CSIQ) developed by the AEL helps a school staff gauge its performance on six dimensions related to continuous school improvement. Each member of the staff responds to the CSIQ individually. Although results might be used at the district or regional level, the most widely intended unit for applying…

Students should realize that writing is a process of discovery which transcends the English classroom. Writing only about literature limits their experiences. The types of writing assessed on the Georgia Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA) are: Narrative Writing, Persuasive Writing, and Report Writing (Expository). This MGWA guide is divided…

This report addresses challenges associated with the reporting of test scores of students with disabilities participating in alternate assessments. It summarizes six models currently under construction or already being used by states. Using proficiency levels as a common reporting approach, the six models are: (1) same proficiency levels for…

This document deals with testing in intermediate communication arts for seventh graders in Missouri public schools. The document contains the following items from the Session 1 Test Booklet: "Swimming in Snow" (Diana C. Conway) (Items 1, 2, and 5); "Discovery" (Marion Dane Bauer) (Item 13); writing prompt; and a writer's…

This document deals with testing in intermediate communication arts for seventh graders in Missouri public schools. The document contains the following items from the Test Booklet: "Under the Rice Moon" (Rhiannon Puck); "Dogspirit" (Gary Paulsen) (Session 1, Items 4, 5, 6, and 8); a writing prompt; and a writer's checklist. It…

This document deals with testing in communication arts for 11th graders in Missouri public schools. The document contains a short poem "Signs for My Father, Who Stressed the Bunt" (David Bottoms) for students to read and gives four questions for students to answer (Items 15, 16, 17, and 18) in Session 1. It also provides scoring guides…

This document deals with testing in communication arts for seventh graders in Missouri public schools. The document first provides an article about adventures on and around an island near the coast of Nova Scotia entitled "The Secret of the Oak Island Money Pit" (Sharon Barry). The document instructs students to read the article and then…

An ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) study on literacy and numeracy was established in 1999 with 1000 children from a random national sample of 100 schools. The children in the study began their schooling at the beginning of 1999. Many students transferred to other schools since the study began and have been tracked in their new…

This document explains the major features of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in a non-technical manner. It highlights the history and development of NAEP, how the data are collected, scored, and analyzed, and how the results are reported. This introductory guide to NAEP is designed to meet the information needs of teachers,…

A study was conducted to investigate the stability of rater severity over an extended rating period. Multifaceted Rasch analysis was applied to ratings of writing performances of 8,285 primary school (elementary) students. Each performance was rated on two performance dimensions by two trained raters over a period of 7 rating days. Performances…

Chapters in this report outline the potential plans for the redesign of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It is argued that any successful redesign must consider the NAEP as a whole. This report reviews overall NAEP designs and discusses the implications that each of the designs has for various functional areas. The following…

Several recent studies have investigated the application of statistical inference procedures to the analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) in test items that are scored on an ordinal scale. Mantel's extension of the Mantel-Haenszel test is a possible hypothesis-testing method for this purpose. The development of descriptive statistics for…

Feedback from assessments should be the foundation for improvements students make in their lab work. Therefore, in this study, a standard rubric that reflected the scientific method was employed as an intervention to assess student lab write-ups. Students preformed three labs all based on consumer research. The first lab was completed without the…

These official primary trait scoring guide presents details of the 6-point scoring system used in third-grade Oregon schools to evaluate students' performance in oral reading fluency and in comprehension (as measured through retelling). The oral reading fluency benchmark portion of the scoring guide is broken down into phrasing, flow, and pace…