ERIC Number: ED314426
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1989-Oct
Pages: 169
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-89785-215-X
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Understanding Achievement Tests: A Guide for School Administrators.
Rudner, Lawrence M., Ed.; Conoley, Jane Close; Plake, Barbara S.
Current information about tests and testing procedures is provided for school district staff, particularly in districts without specially trained testing directors. Practical information is given about selecting and administering tests and about reporting results effectively. This guide opens with a discussion of the basic principles of testing. The various types of district-level tests are described, and different types of test scores are presented. The advantages and limitations of certain types of tests and scores are reviewed. The viewpoints of measurement experts on important issues in testing are expressed in the following chapters: (1) "Common Misuses of Standardized Tests" (Eric Gardner); (2) "Preparing Students To Take Standardized Achievement Tests" (William A. Mehrens); (3) "Matching Your Curriculum and Standardized Tests" (Jane C. Conoley); (4) "Using Customized Standardized Tests" (Paul L. Williams); (5) "Interpreting Test Scores for Compensatory Education Students" (Gary Echternacht); and (6) "Working with the Press" (Allan Hartman). Four additional discussions are appended: "Finding Information about Standardized Tests' (Lawrence M. Rudner and Kathryn Dorko); Organizations That Provide Test Information" (Ronald T. C. Boyd); "Putting Test Scores in Perspective: Communicating a Complete Report Card for Your Schools" (M. Kevin Matter); and "Major Achievement Tests and Their Characteristics" (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory). Names and addresses of major test publishers, and a glossary of testing terms are also included. (SLD)
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom; ERIC Publications
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Tests, Measurement, and Evaluation, Washington, DC.; American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC.; Buros Inst. of Mental Measurement, Lincoln, NE.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: For three ERIC Digests extracted from this document, see TM 014 145-147.