A norm referenced model was used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of intervention efforts with 3,896 learning disabled elementary and secondary school children. Ss were tested on the Wide Range Achievement Test. Significant growth was observed in students from resource and self contained classrooms. Gains did not appear to vary with the…

The norm-referenced score scale used by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) is described. The usefulness of standardized scores is explained by a simple numerical example, and the formulas and computations are shown for calculating a mean, a standard deviation, and a deviation or z score. The need for a representative sample is…

The author reviews research on the use of standardized tests to identify bilingual handicapped children. Issues supporting and criticizing standardized measurement are considered, and the author concludes that no test approaching a reasonable level of fairness across cultural groups exists. Research on the psycholinguistic aspects of…

Asserting that today's students are no less literate than were students of the past, this paper deplores the "manufactured" literacy crisis and the resultant rush to competency testing. The paper stresses that the current crisis is less one of literacy than a crisis about who is going to control what is taught and which students get into, and are…

Designed for educational psychologists, the paper discusses the range of tests used for assessing visually handicapped children. Specific tests used in Britain for preschool children (including the Williams Intelligence Test for Children with Defective Vision and the Social Maturity Scale for Blind Pre-school Children) and for school aged children…

A national sample of 3,300 elementary and secondary school teachers, who had recently administered the Metropolitan Achievement Tests in their classrooms, responded to a questionnaire concerning various standardized achievement test issues. Teachers gave their opinion on: the amount of such testing in their schools; personal use of test results;…

University students were administered three Piagetian tasks and a spatial relations test, the Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board. Students' American College Test (ACT) mathematics scores were also recorded. A measure of conservation of weight, administered individually, was the first Piagetian task. Two paper and pencil tests of progressively…

This list of tests was compiled as a reference for those persons responsible for the planning of testing programs or evaluation. Although it is not intended to be all-inclusive, 12 reading readiness, 15 reading achievement, 9 diagnostic, and 10 achievement batteries are described. Two programs of supplementary materials are mentioned. Information…

Studied were the variables in the selection process of students screened for participation in Project APEX. This project was designed to identify disadvantaged students with potential for college success who are enrolled in the noncollege preparatory general diploma high school program. Subjects were 148 male students in two New York City schools…

The premises of open education and related developmental and social issues are explained as an aid to educational practitioners in choosing the proper measurement and evaluation strategies for this philosophy. In addition, a position statement on evaluation is offered and the present status of educational evaluation is outlined. Some…

This study attempted to prove a dichotomy between cognitive processes as measured by Piagetian reasoning tasks and those measured by traditional intelligence tests. A battery of tests (Slosson Intelligence Test, Durrell's Silent Reading and Listening Comprehension Test, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, and the Piagetian Measure of Cognitive…

The concepts of cognitive development and objectivity are explored preparatory to a discussion of a suitable theory of development to be used as the foundation for developmentally-based standardized tests. It is hypothesized that Piagetian theory is the most appropriate basis for such tests and two possible approaches for constructing…

The results from two informal measures (a cloze test and a group reading inventory and a standardized reading test were compared in a study of instruments available for measuring adult reading performance. The three instruments were administered to 158 undergraduates enrolled in reading improvement classes. From this group, 75 subjects were…

What is meant by "accountability" varies a great deal. It is not, however, the tools such as merit salary plans, voucher plans, and management techniques that are used to achieve accountability. Accountability has from its earliest days been tied to testing. In discussing testing, it is necessary to discuss the pros and cons of standardized, or…

Through the nineteen-forties, fifties, and up to the mid-sixties, achievement test scores steadily increased. Since then, many test scores drop. The reported test score declines are more dramatic in recent years and most evident for higher grades. They are specially pronounced in verbal tests, but hold for nearly all tested areas. Specially:…