Seven formats of educational testing were compared for student test preferences and how well each evaluated learning. The formats were: (1) true/false; (2) multiple choice; (3) matching; (4) MDT Multiple Digit Testing, in which a machine scores fill-in-the-blanks; (5) fill-in-the-blanks; (6) short answers; and (7) essay. A total of 1,440 survey…

The teacher handbook for Progressive Achievement Tests (PATs) in Reading presents an overall description of these survey tests in reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge for school years 3 to 9. There are two alternative forms of each test: (1) the Reading Comprehension tests are designed to measure two major aspects of reading skills…

The purpose of this booklet is to provide social studies teachers with student writing samples that exemplify the criteria used to score students' responses on the June 1987 Alberta (Canada) Social Studies 30 Diploma Examination. Students choose one of two possible essay questions that required writing a defense of individual initiative in…

The California Assessment Program (CAP) presents the Survey of Basic Skills report for grades 3 and 6 of an Alameda County elementary school for 1982. This report begins with an overview of school and district achievement and progresses to more detailed information related to performance in specific skill areas and scores for different groups of…

This booklet provides samples of student writing that exemplify the standards that governed the scoring of student essays on the June 1988 Social Studies 30 Diploma Examination. Copies of the two essay assignments are provided, and five student essays are included for both topics, covering the full range of student writing. Commentaries…

The purpose of the California High School Performance Reports is to provide a means for the public to judge a school's progress towards: (1) implementing the educational reforms outlined in California State Legislature Senate Bill 813; (2) upgrading the quality of its instructional program; and (3) improving student achievement. This paper…

The Goldstein-Scheerer Tests of Abstract and Concrete Thinking are reviewed. This evaluative summary supplements several reviews in the Mental Measurements Yearbook series. The Goldstein-Scheerer tests are used by clinicians and researchers to distinguish normal individuals (those able to engage in two qualitatively different levels of cognitive…

The purpose of this study was to compare the scoring of Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments (TPAI) indicators using discrete descriptors when some are considered "essential" with the scoring of these same indicators, and when no descriptors are considered essential. The two questions addressed in this study were: (1) To what…

This is a final report of support received through the National Institute of Education (NIE) to assist in research on the writing ability of United States children. The study began under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in order to contribute to a cross national assessment of…

The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive summary of current information on describing writing and measuring growth in writing, intended to help teachers decide which aspects of the process and the product to examine, how to determine a writer's specific instructional needs, how to measure growth in writing ability, and how to involve…

Previous research has studied the effects of different methods of item option weighting on the reliability and concurrent and predictive validity of achievement tests. Increases in reliability are generally found, but with mixed results for validity. Several methods of producing option weights, (i.e., Guttman internal and external weights and…

A monte carlo simulation was conducted to assess the effects in an adaptive testing strategy for test batteries of varying subtest order, subtest termination criterion, and variable versus fixed entry on the psychometric properties of an existent achievement test battery. Comparisons were made among conventionally administered tests and adaptive…

Conventional mastery tests designed to make optimal mastery classifications were compared with fixed-length and variable-length adaptive mastery tests. Comparisons between the testing procedures were made across five content areas in an introductory biology course from tests administered to volunteers. The criterion was the student's standing in…

The Pennsylvania Preschool Inventory (PPI) was developed as a straight-forward and efficient measure of the relative cognitive development of the young child, offering an alternative to more complicated, elaborate assessment instruments. Results of the inventory are potentially relevant to both current and future school success of children between…

The purpose of this released exercise set is to provide easy access to released exercises from the reading/literature assessment conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 1979-80. Exercises were used to assess the attainments of samples of 9 year olds, 13 year olds and 17 year olds. Upon this basis, generalizations…