Independent schools are, for the most part, exempt from mandatory participation in standardized tests designed for state and federal comparisons, nor are they required to take part in comparative international assessments. The anxiety in the broader culture, however, is driving a growing interest among independent school parents (and prospective…

The predictive validity of the California Achievement Test, Reading (CAT-R) was examined for 480 Hispanic and Anglo pupils in Grades 2 and 3. The validity of the CAT-R as a predictor for reading for combined groups of Hispanic and Anglo pupils appeared to be limited. (Author/LMO)

In an attempt to find a test which minimized cultural bias, three tests were administered to 335 first grade pupils. The subjects comprised 2 groups (123 Anglo children and 212 Spanish surnamed children). The Goodenough Draw-A-Man Test (GDAM) and the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test (LT), Form A, were administered as measures of intelligence. The…

Reviews developmental literature on cognitive gender differences; and compares past and present trends in gender differences, by age, from standardizations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the California Achievement Tests. Decreases are found in gender differences for adolescents but not for adults. Implications are discussed. (SLD)

This paper considers the question of bias in group administered academic achievement tests, bias which is inherent in the instruments themselves. A body of data on the test of performance of three disadvantaged minority groups--northern, urban black; southern, rural black; and, southwestern, Mexican-Americans--as tryout samples in contrast to…

A study involving all students taking the California Achievement Test (CAT) in the Cleveland City School District (Ohio) during the fall of 1989 was conducted to assess the effects of the use of parallel test forms. Each spring, all students in grades 4, 6, and 8 are selected to take the appropriate level of the CAT reading test, Form E. As a…

The paradox of site-based school management with use of standardized tests or instructional management systems that restrict teacher choices was evident in one school district in North Carolina in which measurement of student success has centered on student performance on state-mandated tests. A study was conducted to see if students whose…

To compare achievement standards of 1977 with those of 1956, three tests were administered in their original form to all third graders in a large school district. Approximately 3500 students in 1956 and 4500 in 1977 were administered the California Achievement Tests, the California Short Form Tests of Mental Maturity, and the Gates Advanced…

The Edmonton Grade III Achievement: 1956-1977 study is a comparison of achievement in reading, arithmetic, and language involving all of the third grade students in a large school system. Six basic skills tests which were administered to all of the Edmonton third grade students in 1956 were reprinted and administered to all of the third grade…

Sex differences in variability in the national norms of the Differential Aptitude Tests, Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/Scholastic Aptitude Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, and California Achievement Tests were examined. Compared to females, males were consistently more variable in quantitative reasoning, spatial visualization,…

The relationship between gender and the race/geographic area of students and their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score gains after participation in one of two test preparatory programs was studied. Black (n=181) and native-born Appalachian white (n=67) high school juniors were selected on the basis of high scores on the California Achievement…

The Elementary School Curriculum Efficacy Program (ESCEP) of the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools is intended to improve the academic performance of students through the development of positive attitudes toward learning. The ESCEP introduces students to a process of self-exploration that better enables them to understand their personal…

Concern was expressed for the possible effects of testing Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I students with norm-referenced tests that may be so difficult that many students will have scores in the chance range. The likelihood of such students obtaining equal scaled scores if they were tested with easier out-of-level tests was…

How students perceive standardized tests and routine classroom tests on subject matter units was studied by surveying 61 fifth-grade and 65 eighth-grade students in public schools in Michigan. It was hypothesized that older students would more often distinguish between the types of test and would be more cynical and less motivated than would…

The results of different types of reading achievement measures were compared for 58 low-income urban black third graders. Two formal tests were administered: the norm-referenced California Achievement Tests (CAT), and the criterion-referenced Alabama Basic Competency Test (ABCT). Informal measures included the Houghton-Mifflin Informal Reading…