Analysis of variance methods were used to investigate the reliability of scores on open ended items in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The study was designed to determine their stability over seven different scorers and time of scoring during a three-month interval. (Author/CTM) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in…

A model for the recalibration of teacher assessment that assesses and evaluates in one operation is formulated. The instructional effectiveness coefficient is discussed as an edumetric device, and a new research-evaluation model that is quantitatively intuitive and empirical is formulated. The model is nonstochastic in its logic. (Author/SLD)

Several classroom demonstrations are described that have sparked student involvement in undergraduate courses in probability and statistics. These demonstrations involve experimentation using exams and statistical analysis and adjustment of exam scores. (Author/SLD)

This study compared the reliability and validity indexes of randomly parallel tests administered under inclusion, exclusion, and correction for guessing directions, using 54 graduate students. It also compared the criterion-referenced grading decisions based on the different scoring methods. (TJH)

A newly developed performance standard-setting procedure, termed iterative judgmental policy capturing (JPC), is applicable to assessments composed of distinct multidimensional exercises. The procedure is described, and results are reported from the application of JPC in a study involving a panel of 20 teachers and 6 performance exercises. (SLD)

The New Standards Project has designed research to describe educational standards in other countries using an ethnographic case-study approach. Data review and analysis are organized by fundamental questions, the answers to which constitute a contextualized account of what students are expected to know and be able to do. (Author/SLD)

Several extensions to the Angoff method of standard setting are described that can accommodate characteristics of performance-based assessment. A study involving 12 panelists supported the effectiveness of the new approach but suggested that panelists preferred an approach that was at least partially conjunctive. (SLD)

The articles of this special issue propose two methods of deriving an initial standard and one method for determining the extent to which the standard should include compensation. Much work remains to be done on further development of the methods and the larger issues of policy regarding performance assessment. (SLD)

Two studies involving a total of 99 experts examined the reproducibility of standards for 2 medical certifying examinations set under different conditions. Together, results of both studies provide evidence that a modified version of the Angoff method is quite reliable and produces stable results under varying conditions. (SLD)

Seventeen educational measurement textbooks were reviewed to analyze current perceptions regarding true-false achievement testing. A synthesis of the rules for item writing is presented, and the purported advantages and disadvantages of the true-false format derived from those texts are reviewed. (TJH)

Characterizing this special "Kappan" section on test-based accountability as a cautionary plea, this article sees five themes: tests seldom measure what matters; standardization gets confused with standards; tests constitute a limited reform lever; test-based accountability plans often misplace trust and protection; and the…

Comparison of special education teacher (n=18) and computer-scored curriculum-based measurements (CBM) of spelling found that computer scoring accuracy was significantly higher and more stable. Additionally, high correlations were found between the CBM spelling scores and a standardized test of spelling achievement. (DB)

Problems with the oral Bagrut are discussed, including the complicated rating scale, complicated administration requirements, lack of conformity in materials, unsuitable tests, monologue approach, and scoring system. A suggested form for reporting scores is presented. (LB)

In this objective scoring procedure for assessing learning-disabled students' writing, a standardized process is used to collect writing samples, which are then scored for number of legible words, total number of words written, percentage of legible words, correctly spelled words, number of correct word sequences, and mean length of correct word…

Education remains heavily shackled by punitive, test-driven reform. Despite reasonable alternatives, testing increasingly drives educational accountability and reform. Standardization of direct writing assessments promotes scoring reliability and facilitates educational comparisons and rankings. However, standardized writing is not good writing,…