The edumetric adequacy of curriculum-based reading measures were examined for two basal reading programs. On the basis of reading aloud performance, 91 elementary students were assigned seven instructional placement scores within each basal series. Students also were measured on standardized reading achievement tests. Generally, correlations…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was examined for instances in which the item performance of examinees with comparable scores differed according to their native languages. A chi-square procedure, sensitive to deviations of less than ten percent from the expected frequencies of correct item responses across several language groups,…

This study considers whether or not the various sentence structures in standardized reading tests cohere to facilitate the extraction of information. In the context of the theoretical framework of the study, a schema theory of reading, a diffuse discourse structure may legitimately activate more than one way of conceptualizing an answer to a test…

This report describes research in progress at Duisburg University on a modification of the cloze principle in language testing. Four problem areas in classical cloze tests are isolated and discussed, namely, text selection, test construction, scoring, and interpretation. The "C-tests" in the process of development use the theoretical…

Improved communication and cooperation between test publishers and school systems is essential for solving major test problems. Test-curriculum matching, test equating, and inappropriate use of grade equivalent scores are major problem areas. The degree to which a standardized test yields information relevant to what the system is trying to teach…

A series of studies on conceptual and design problems in competency-based measurements are explained. The concept of validity within the context of criterion-referenced measurement is reviewed. The authors believe validation should be viewed as a process rather than an end product. It is the process of marshalling evidence to support…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the diagnostic validity of the Maryland Diagnostic Arithmetic Test (MDAT) as a group-administered test. The MDAT is a domain-referenced diagnostic test consisting of several sub-tests covering the content of elementary school arithmetic from sets to non-negative rational numbers. Forty-five…

The discussion on criterion-referenced (CRT) and norm-referenced achievement tests (NRT) is divided into two parts: definitions and use. The authors contrast CRTs, tests which compare an individual's performance to some specified behavioral criterion of proficiency, and NRTs, tests which compare an individual's score to scores of others. They also…

In order to determine whether preschool children can successfully identify externalizing symptomatic behaviors (aggression and hyperactivity) in their male classmates, and whether children's perceptions are associated with peer-rated popularity and rejection, 154 preschool boys and girls were interviewed through the use of a peer-nominating…

The relative contribution of a variety of variables to different self-concept sub-constructs requires further exploration despite the existence of vast research about overall self-regard. The contributions of demographic, achievement, achievement motivation, and school self-concept dimensions to the prediction of the physical, moral-ethical,…

A study was conducted at Essex Community College (ECC) to test the validity of the Modified Kenny-Griffiths Test for Formal Operations, a paper-and-pencil instrument designed to determine the cognitive level of incoming adult students. The test sample consisted of 100 students (50 male and 50 female) who were equally divided between physical and…

The Bilingual Oral Language Test (BOLT-English) was pilot tested in January 1976, field tested in April 1976, and again in October, November 1976, on a population of more than 3,000 students in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pomona, Riverside, and Palm Springs, California. Results reported include concurrent validity values of .9 and .86 when…

This study focuses on standardized test administration in five elementary schools. The authors discuss how teachers affect test validity by altering standard test procedures in both planned and incidental ways. Each of the 16 voluntary teachers who participated in this study was observed in her/his classroom administering certain subtests of the…

Criterion-referenced testing is an important area in the theory and practice of educational measurement. This study demonstrated that even these tests must be closely examined for construct validity. The dimensionality of a dataset will be affected by the examinee's cognitive processes as well as by the nature of the content domain. The methods of…

Since measurement errors exist in panel surveys, LISREL (a procedure for controlling measurement error by the analysis of covariance structures) was used in this investigation to determine the stability of the social-psychological concept of locus of control expectancy change with the aquisition of post secondary education. The National…