This study reports an attempt to improve the administration of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) by identifying and modifying aspects of the test which adversely affect disadvantaged preschoolers' performance. The resultant test was called the Modified Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (M-PPVT). Two samples from the same lower class…

The Metropolitan Readiness tests, first published in 1948 (forms R and S), were revised in 1966 (forms A and B). This study was instigated as a result of the charge that the revisions of the tests made them more difficult and more unfair to deprived children. Thirty-six Caucasian beginning first graders (divided evenly by high and low…

The testing sub-program is designed to provide the diagnostic instruments necessary to measure pupil progress through the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) curricula. Its objectives are to provide information about pupils which teachers can use to direct each child's individual learning program, to provide the measurements necessary for…

Gilman and Ferry have shown that when the student's score on a multiple choice test is the total number of responses necessary to get all items correct, substantial increases in reliability can occur. In contrast, similar procedures giving partial credit on multiple choice items have resulted in relatively small gains in reliability. The analysis…

This report is part of a general study of Reference Measures for Cognitive and Noncognitive Factors. The specific activity that is being reported is the development of "factor-referenced" tests or "marker" tests for several cognitive factors related to divergent production (i.e., ability to produce a variety of words, phrases,…

Distinction between norm referenced and criterion referenced tests are explored in relationship to underlying philosophy and intent. In considering the use of a criterion referenced test for instructional purposes, consideration is given to: specification of objectives, item content and selection, reliability, and needs assessment. (Author)

Written by an ex-Latin teacher, short-cuts to analyzing test results for the non-mathematical teacher are provided. Discussions are given of item analysis (item analysis by a show of hands, standards for test items: success, standards for test items: discrimination, and the second stage of item analysis. The standard error is then presented (the…

A pair comparison scale for measuring aesthetic judgment which could be used with four and five year old children was developed by having art experts independently judge for "aesthetic quality" color slides representing a variety of stimuli on an eleven-point successive category scale. The scale was administered to forty children on two…

Problems in assessing the validity and reliability of the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) tests of the inquiry skills of biology students are discussed by reference to the first trial version of the first Explorations in Biology (EIB) booklets. Since students learn during the two parts of the test, coefficients of stability…

One hundred and fifteen first graders were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Experimental pupils used the Visual Tracking program, and the control pupils participated in directed listening activities in separate rooms. The teachers followed a weekly rotating schedule in supervising the groups. After 12 weeks of training,…

Violations of four selected principles of writing multiple-choice items were introduced into an undergraduate religion course mid-term examination. Three of the flaws significantly increased test difficulty. KR-sub-20 values were lower for all of the tests containing the flawed items than for the "good" versions of the items but significantly so…

Some theoretical concerns for competency-based evaluation instruments are discussed, and means of examining these instruments for validity and reliability are presented. The areas of concern include descriptions of the behavior, the level of response, and the nature of the evaluation. Two different types of instruments are examined to determine…

The contribution of a 20-minute essay question, given as part of the one-hour achievement test in American History and Social Studies, to the pool of information available on a candidate from an all-objective examination of the College Board Admissions Testing Program is presented in this report. The study limits itself to a consideration of the…

Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Scale, Gilligan, et al.'s Sexual Moral Judgment Scale, Maitland and Goldman's Objective Moral Judgment Scale, and Hogan's Maturity of Moral Judgment Scale were examined for reliability and inter-scale relationships. All measures except the Objective Moral Judgment Scale had good reliabilities. The obtained relations…

Sixty-nine students in grades 9, 10, and 11 were tested with three of Viktor Lowenfeld's visual-haptic tests in an attempt to ascertain whether students at these levels segregated in a fashion similar to Lowenfeld's sample. Respondents were spread over the visual-haptic continuum as Lowenfeld suggested they should be. However, a large and…