The diagnosis of children as learning disabled (LD) has become an increasingly popular diagnostic rubric, but the operational definition of "learning disabled" remains a vague, ill-defined construct which is based upon diagnosis by exclusion of other obvious causes. Diagnostic test results and cultural and familial information taken from case…

This item bank was compiled by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to help teachers at the secondary school level construct objective tests in mathematics. The multiple-choice items were written by teachers who attended ACER writing workshops. The questions are classified according to their subject content and the cognitive…

This teacher's manual describes major ways in which the accompanying Item Bank can be used--that is, for achievement tests, diagnostic tests, the introduction of new topics, stimulus for class discussions, evaluation of curriculum and teaching methods, and as models for constructing multiple-choice questions. Rationale for the use of…

A rationale is presented for the "control items" technique, the technique of using control (nonexperimental) test items to provide a baseline for estimating the effects indicated by scores on the experimental test items. For evaluating the effects of a curriculum, a test can be made of two types of items--ones that test explicit program objectives…

The effects of different choice formats on the reliability of teacher-made tests were examined for high and low achievers. The first study examined the effect of 3 and 5 choice items on the reliability of dichotomously scored teacher-made tests. The second study examined the effect of 3 and 4 choice items on the reliability of similarly designed…

Guidelines are presented to assist school divisions in implementing the accreditation requirement of the Virginia Board of Education for minimum competency assessment in citizenship for all high school graduates. It is assumed that local schools or divisions have established goals and objectives for social studies programs which may serve as a…

The study examined the process by which diagnostic data on children thought to have learning disabilities (LD) are generated and used. Emphasis was placed on the validity of test instruments in common use in the field. Since part of the practical validity of any instrument used to identify an LD child rests on the validity of the LD construct…

This paper grew out of a presentation made as part of a panel discussion on the Bakke case, and is second in a series of Institute for the Study of Educational Policy documents on important educational issues and problems. Many of the factors that impact test performance or scores are examined. The primary thesis of the paper is that it is…

THIS STUDY WAS DONE TO DETERMINE THE PREDICTIVE VALUE OF INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP ACHIEVEMENT TESTS WHEN USED TO EVALUATE DEAF CHILDREN. THE 36 CHILDREN SELECTED FOR THIS STUDY WERE IN GRADES 2, 4, AND 6 IN THE KENNEDY SCHOOL IN DAYTON, OHIO. ALL HAD SEVERE AUDITORY HANDICAPS AND WERE 10 TO 16 YEARS OLD. FOUR PSYCHOLOGISTS ADMINISTERED THE FOLLOWING…

THE 5-MONTH STUDY DEALT WITH THE APPLICATION OF THREE DIFFERENT PROGRAMED INSTRUCTIONAL LESSONS GIVEN IN COMBINATIONS TO FIVE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF 41 PUPILS EACH, SELECTED AT RANDOM FROM THE COOPERATIVE, DISTRIBUTIVE, AND OFFICE OCCUPATIONS STUDENTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL OF COMMERCE IN DETROIT. THE STUDY TESTED MEANS OF IMPROVING PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION…

THE CURRENT INFLEXIBILITY OF BUSINESS AND COLLEGES IN WANTING TO USE ONLY "CREDENTIALED" PEOPLE (I.E. THOSE WITH A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR COLLEGE DEGREE) IS ACTING AS A BARRIER TO QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE UNABLE TO COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATION. TO COMBAT THIS, IT IS NECESSARY THAT (1) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS BOTH CONTINUE AND AUGMENT…

EXPERIMENTAL VARIABLES INTENDED TO REPRESENT A CONTINUUM OF REINFORCEMENT FOR SEARCHING BEHAVIOR WERE--REINFORCEMENT BY PRAISE ONLY (1), AND REINFORCEMENT BY PRAISE PLUS INDIRECT GUIDANCE ON HOW TO PROCESS INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE LEARNER (2). A THIRD INSTRUCTIONAL CONDITION REQUIRED MINIMUM TEACHER-LEARNER INTERACTION AND DIRECT PRESENTATION…

THE FIRST TASK OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO CONSTRUCT A SET OF INSTRUMENTS FOR THE COLLECTION OF DATA ON CHILDREN'S SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. THE PURPOSE WAS TO PRODUCE INSTRUMENTS WITH A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP TO THE CLASSROOM SETTING AND THE INTERESTS AND CONCERNS OF TEACHERS THAN MOST OF THE AVAILABLE ONES SEEMED TO PROVIDE. A LARGE POOL OF…

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…

Guidelines are described for setting up an item bank under latent trait theory which may be applied to the achievement testing system of multi-section, large-enrollment, college survey courses. The enrollment for the course is typically heterogeneous: students may be majors or non-majors, any one section may contain honors college students and…