For the past seven years, Missouri has been administering the Missouri Mastery and Achievement Tests (MMAT) to fulfill the requirements of the Excellence in Education Act of 1985. The MMAT, as a criterion-referenced test, can measure student progress on specific key skills over time. This summary presents results of the spring 1993 administration…

The 36 tests cited in this bibliography are used to assess knowledge of the physical environment and various environmental issues. There are achievement tests for students in elementary and secondary grades. Some of the tests are course or curriculum related. Also included are measures for all ages which relate to individuals' interests and…

This outline and bibliography is designed to acquaint candidates and educators with the Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) Examination. The outline indicates the areas in which secretaries should possess knowledge, skill, understanding, and judgment. It is divided into the three parts that comprise the examination: finance and business law…

This guide provides instructors of business computer programming with a curriculum correlated directly to the office education essential elements mandated by the Texas Education Agency. Introductory materials include a scope and sequence and lists of suggested textbooks, resource books, software, audiovisuals, and magazines. Eleven units are…

This study examined whether an expert system approach involving intelligent selection of items (EXSPRT-I) is as efficient as item response theory (IRT) based three-parameter adaptive mastery testing (AMT) when there are enough subjects to estimate the three IRT item parameters for all items in the test and when subjects in the item parameter…

This paper reports on a project which has developed the general latent class model as a framework for representation of item responses. This framework can be used to represent data in applications such as mastery tests and other kinds of achievement tests, where there is reason to believe that current foundations are deficient. Methods of…

The evaluation design for the Austin Independent School District 1982 summer school program for elementary retainees is described. The evaluation is meant to focus on short-term skill mastery in reading and mathematics and the long-term achievement growth of the participants. Separate reading objectives and materials in Spanish and English…

Ten articles on continuing professional education are presented. Titles and authors are as follows: "Merging Continuing Education and Inservice Teacher Education: A Concept Worth Exploring" (Alvah M. Kilgore); "Ablative Absolute Continuing Education, Ignorance Flees" (Ben J. Wiens); "Humanize! Individualize! Personalize!…

Summary reports and student performance results from the Texas statewide assessment of minimum basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics are presented. The Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) was developed in 1979 to provide support for educationally disadvantaged children. Criterion-referenced tests are administered to students in…

Test item selection techniques based on traditional item analysis methods were compared to techniques based on item response theory. The consistency of mastery classifications in criterion referenced reading tests was examined. Pretest and posttest data were available for 945 first and second grade students and for 1796 fourth to sixth grade…

The New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test was administered to 42,984 freshmen entering New Jersey colleges and universities and four independent colleges in the fall of 1978 in order to assess students' specific strengths and weaknesses in reading, writing, and mathematics for placement in appropriate first-year courses. Based on test…

It is argued in this paper that generalizability theory provides a uniquely useful framework for defining and quantifying the dependability of data for decision making. It does so by requiring careful specification of the conditions of measurement and the anticipated sources of variation in the results of the measurement procedure. A distinction…

Two aspects of criterion referenced testing are discussed: cutting scores and test length. Several practices in determining passing scores are enumerated: (1) setting passing scores so that a predetermined percent of students pass; (2) inspecting each test item to determine how important it is that it be answered correctly; (3) determining the…

The historical background of mastery learning is discussed and related to the use of the traditional normal curve and to the nature of curves which express more adequately the mastery learning concept. It is suggested that the mastery model calls for strategies that: inform students about course expectations; set standards of mastery in advance;…

This meta-analysis of 49 comparative studies shows that mastery testing has positive effects on student learning, but the size of effect depends on the stringency of the criterion used and the degree of experimental control. The effects of instructional time, student attitudes, and differences in ability levels are also addressed. (Author/LRW)