There exist special problems in testing first-grade children. Orally administered yes-no tests reduce the problems found in the other types, but they have their own drawbacks. A solution to some of these drawbacks is the use of the matched-pair scoring technique. For each "yes" item on the test there is included a "reversed" or…

Developing practical achievement tests for use at the primary-grade level is a difficult task. Some problems encountered appear to be resolved by using verbally administered yes-no tests. But such tests are criticized as having a low reliability because they offer only two choices. Two modifications of the yes-no test have been proposed to…

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…

During the fall term, preliminary forms of the Experimental Method Test (EMT) were given to introductory level psychology students as well as a number of advanced students. The results of this preliminary testing led to the development of a second form of the test which was evaluated over a number of groups of students. The results of the final…

In reviewing the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) testing procedures, the author notes that the assessment of student achievement and the planning of individualized instructional sequences involve valid and reliable measurement of many of the relevant characteristics of the learner. He criticizes the placement testing procedure as…

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…

The OST is a technique quite different from anything reported elsewhere in the literature. The model underlying OST work assumes that an individual's intellect, at any given point in time, is the set of all information he has at his disposal at that point in time. The set of concepts an individual has at any point in time may radically change over…

To help teachers who must produce test items to measure instructional objectives, 54 teacher education candidates participated in an experiment where easily understood constraints on item production were manipulated. Four forms of a test item writing exercise sheet were randomly distributed, each asking for the production of eight sample test…

A rationale is established for designing a self-concept instrument for minority children which differs from traditional self-concept instruments. The paper describes a battery of instruments designed by the investigator, which tests, after three other variables of self-concept, a fourth variable, "sense of control". This seems to be an important…

A pilot project has as its goals: to investigate the use of radio for elementary mathematics instruction in underdeveloped countries, to evaluate a prototype system, to develop a methodology for producing radio instructional materials, and to foster in the host country the ability to self-sustain the project. Toward these goals the report cites…

The teaching performance test is a recently developed assessment technique designed to sharpen our teacher competence evaluation procedures. It assesses a teacher's ability to promote learner mastery of prespecified instructional objectives during a relatively short lesson designed by the teacher. The principal contributions of this paper are the…

This report defines musical aptitude in order to construct a test and obtain data pertinent to the perfecting of the definition and helpful in the practical assessment of student aptitude. Criteria for assessing potential music students often reflect achievement rather than aptitude; objective tests are often too atomistic and narrow in scope or…

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument, the Special Education Research Test (SERT) to assess the critical reading ability of Utah State University Special Education graduate students. Five steps were taken in the development of the instrument. Content validity was determined using a group of regionally and nationally…

This booklet, one in a series entitled "What Research Says to the Teacher", deals with the evaluation and reporting of pupil progress. An introduction discusses briefly the purposes, criteria, and methods of student evaluation. Section I examines the standard criteria for student achievement: school marks, standardized tests, curves, essay tests,…

The persistent problems in foreign language testing are considered under four headings: (1) validity, (2) scope, (3) efficiency, and (4) the problem of how tests relate to the wider context of instruction. The first consists of insuring that the measurements and assessments obtained reflect what they are intended to reflect. The problem of scope…