A NATIONAL SURVEY, INVOLVING A FIVE-PERCENT SAMPLE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WAS CONDUCTED IN 1966. THE PRIMARY CONCERN CENTERED AROUND FOUR MAJOR QUESTIONS--(1) THE EXTENT OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUP SEGREGATION IN THE SCHOOLS, (2) WHETHER THE SCHOOLS OFFERED EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, (3) THE DEGREE OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUP DIFFERENCES ON…

How standardized achievement and mental ability tests are used in the schools, and what parents and teachers think about such testing, were investigated. Guided inventories were administered to 207 teachers from 10 schools and to 223 parents from 12 Parent-Teacher Association groups. Intensive individual interviews were conducted with 15 testing…

Basically, test directors have four systemwide and building level responsibilities: (1) planning, administration and evaluation of standardized testing programs; (2) application of measurement and evaluation to school problems; (3) classroom testing and evaluation; and (4) external testing programs. In a series of brief memos, measurement and…

To help teachers in comparing the content of their instruction with the content of standardized tests, a taxonomy of elementary school mathematics was developed. The taxonomy consisted of matrix with three dimensions; (1) mode of presentation (how questions are asked); (2) nature of material (type of numbers or mathematical terms); and (3)…

There is currently a conflict between educational accountability and the distrust of standardized testing. Concern for the quality of education is based on evidence of students' academic dificiencies, the decline in test scores, and increasing education costs and school taxes. As a result of criticism, states have mandated, or are considering,…

Procedures which are used by Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, Inc., in developing achievement tests are described; these steps are suggested to be typical of major test publishers. A curricular analysis of fifth grade mathematics textbooks is presented, to illustrate the process which determines which skills and objectives are tested. The…

When a program evaluation is conducted on the basis of gains made in standardized achievement test scores between a pretest and a posttest, serious bias can result where a floor effect exists on one or both of the test levels. Based upon the expanded standard scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills from three successive regular spring…

Despite a decade of debate, standardized achievement testing continues as one of the most controversial issues in education. This study sought the views of teachers, counselors, and principals, regarding the advantages and limitations of achievement testing programs. Responses to a questionnaire and informal discussions indicated positive…

This study investigated the feasibility of using the ordering theoretic procedure with multiple choice items, and its usefulness as an interpretive aid for intelligence test data. Data from two components of a group-administered multiple choice intelligence test (Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Tests) were analyzed using ordering theory procedure for…

The relationship of cognitive style variables and conditions of test administration was investigated in cognitive assessments of hearing-impaired children, aged six through eleven. One hundred-twenty children were given the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) and a Piagetian battery under one of six conditions of testing: (1) standard; (2)…

Previous research has indicated that correlations between Piagetian and psychometric tests and chronological age are influenced by the size of the age range of the sample groups. To examine whether the size of the age range and mean age are related to the size of the correlations between Piagetian and arithmetic tests, Spearman rank-order…

A study was conducted to determine if the observed changes in Head Start children were related to the practice effects inherent in a test-retest situation. The "control" group consisted of 64 children who had been eligible for a Head Start program. They roughly matched a group of Head Start (HS) children in IQ scores, age, and…

A cross-sectional study of 292 first and fifth grade Negro and white children examined the relationship between environmental factors and performance test scores of verbal and cognitive ability. The socioeconomic status (SES) of each subject was determined and included in a deprivation index formed by obtaining a composite score for each subject…

Papers collected in this booklet discuss various aspects of language development in the classroom and in the area of remedial reading. Titles include "Project II: Strategies and Milestones" by Martin Kling, which describes the outcomes of an investigation of research in language development and reading; "Language, Linguistics, and Learning to…

While most school districts believe they understand grade equivalent scores, teachers, parents, and measurement specialists frequently misinterpret this apparently simple statistical expression. Echternacht's article describes the construction, application, and interpretation of grade equivalent scores from the test publisher's perspective.…