Thirty-eight methods are presented for either setting standards or adjusting them based on an analysis of classification error rates. A trilevel classification scheme is used to categorize the methods, and 10 criteria of technical adequacy and practicability are proposed to evaluate them. (Author/LMO)

Describes recent research attempts to draw inferences about the relative standing of the states on the basis of mean SAT scores. This paper identifies five serious errors that call into question the validity of such inferences. Some plausible ways to avoid the errors are described. (Author/LMO)

Multiple-choice reading comprehension items from a conventional, norm-referenced reading comprehension test were successfully analyzed using a simple latent class model. Results support the use of latent class, state mastery models with more heterogenous item pools than has been previously advocated. (Author/PN)

The PAAP Rubrics are designed for planning and implementation of the State's alternate assessment to the MEA, the PAAP. The PAAP has been designed to allow participation in the MEA for those students who require accommodations so significant that they would compromise the validity of the assessment (i.e., student would need accommodations that are…

William E. Sedlacek--one of the nation's leading authorities on the topic of noncognitive assessment--challenges the use of the SAT and other standardized tests as the sole assessment tool for college and university admissions. In this book, Sedlacek presents a noncognitive assessment method that can be used in concert with the standardized tests.…

Whether you're a stream studies novice or a veteran aquatic monitor, "Watershed Dynamics" gives you abundant practical resources to extend your students' investigations into local water quality and land-use issues. This two-part set is ideal for teaching biological and ecological concepts and research techniques. It also shows how the interplay…

This journal presents the following articles: "Introduction: Volume 14--Examining Performance" (Marie Cora) "Fair Assessment Practices: Giving Students Equitable Opportunities to Demonstrate Learning" (Linda Suskie); "Assessing Oral Communication at the Community Learning Center Development of the OPT (Oral Proficiency Test)" (JoAnne Hartel and…

The main purpose of this study was to illustrate a polytomous IRT-based linking procedure that adjusts for rater variations. Test scores from two administrations of a statewide reading assessment were used. An anchor set of Year 1 students' constructed responses were rescored by Year 2 raters. To adjust for year-to-year rater variation in IRT…

Assessing complex teaching performance in the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has caused the Educational Testing Service to wrestle with fundamental scoring issues that are both conceptual and technical. This report reviews the challenges encountered, how they are being addressed, and what the NBPTS effort has learned…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA reading assessment. It contains samples and instructions for developing assessment items for grades 5, 8, and 11. Although designed for teachers, the Handbook is meant to be a…

This paper discusses a preliminary study aimed at examining counseling students' cultural identity development. The primary goals of this project were to develop a rubric for assessing racial cultural identity growth; to provide a personal and meaningful paradigm for the trainee to explore racial cultural identity development and a format for self…

Following the style of the 1958 original, this third edition of the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability is both a standardized attainment test and a diagnostic test for readers of all ages and thus can be used to assess reading progress objectively as well as to obtain structured diagnostic observations of an individual's reading behavior. It…

The use of latent class analysis for establishing student performance standards was studied. Latent class analysis (LCA) is an established procedure for investigating the latent structure of a set of data. LCA presumes that groups, classes, or respondents differ qualitatively from one another, and that these differences account for all of the…

The process and results of a project to develop a Turkish language proficiency test are described. The project was undertaken by the American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages, and involved development of two sample tests for intermediate and advanced levels in four skill areas (speaking, listening, reading, writing) using…

This report examines the potential of adaptive testing, two?-stage testing in particular, for improving the data quality of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Following a discussion of the rationale for adaptive testing in assessment and a review of previous studies of two-?stage testing, this report describes a 1993 Ohio…