Black and Wiliam (1998a, 1998b) demonstrate that formative assessment is one of the most effective strategies for promoting student learning. Since the publication of their reviews, formative assessment has gained increasing international prominence in both policy and practice. However, despite this early innovation, the theory and practice of…

This study investigated the Individual Learning Plans of eighty-eight students who were deaf and hard of hearing attending facilities and schools for the deaf in Victoria Australia. The students' assessment and planning portfolios were scrutinised for evidence of formal and informal assessment used to generate goals for the Individual Learning…

Background: The pedagogical and status implications of assessment in physical education (PE) have been recognised in the past. How students perceive being assessed and graded is a neglected area, however. While some studies have garnered students' perceptions of assessment when no grade is awarded or the stakes are relatively low, we know less…

The purpose of this study was to examine the instructional effectiveness of different online reading strategies for students identified as possessing different learning styles, either internal or external locus of control styles, on tests measuring different learning objectives. Participants were 169 undergraduate students, randomly assigned to…

Mainstreamed students should be graded in terms of their growth rather than by comparison with nonhandicapped students. Fair evaluation procedures include determining terminal and enabling objectives; pretesting and functional assessment; monitoring progress; measuring achievement; and transferring the evaluation into a meaningful grade. (SK)

Examines four factors involved in the determination of how many test items should be constructed or sampled for a set of objectives: (1) the type of decision to be made with results, (2) importance of objectives, (3) number of objectives, and (4) practical constraints. Specific guidelines that teachers and evaluators can use and an illustrative…

The author began his education career committed to curriculum, not measurement. After years of using teacher-made and standardized tests as instructional afterthoughts, he recognized the superiority of criterion-referenced testing and the influence of high-stakes testing on instruction. He then became involved with developing such tests on a…

This paper presents an algorithm for determining the number of items to measure each objective in a criterion-referenced test when testing time is fixed and when the objectives vary in their levels of importance, reliability, and validity. Results of four special applications of the algorithm are presented. (BS)

This paper discusses technical issues related to methods of reporting the outcomes of graded tests, with reference to three existing schemes which exemplify differing graded test models. The models are designed for secondary school pupils and are operated in one or more Local Education Authorities in the South of England. (LMO)

Describes two types of criterion-referenced testing that districts can use to measure achievement outcomes of their instructional programs: a random sampling assessment plan and an item-response theory assessment plan. (Author/JM)

A research-derived integrated system of curriculum development and instructional delivery called NEBEAT (Needs Based Education and Training) is described in relation to more traditional-behaviorally-based systems models. Four major components of curriculum design are examined as features which differentiate NEBEAT from its antecedents. (Author/MBR)

This paper describes steps in the criterion-referenced measurement process. Specific strategies are offered for devising a decision-making process that does not destroy the wealth of information in the criterion referenced base and that does not require complicated mathematics or arduous analysis. (LMO)

This article addresses performance testing based on criterion-referenced measurement. A brief description of performance objectives is presented, followed by a discussion of the different types of performance tests: pencil and paper, identification, simulation, and work sample. Checklists and other types of rating scales are identified. (CT)

Clearly stated educational objectives can help in educational evaluation. Because objectives sans assessment are little more than rhetoric, criterion-referenced tests are advocated for assessing objective-attainment. Performance standards are viewed as appropriately separable from objectives. Five guidelines regarding objectives are suggested for…

The graded test movement is currently attracting interest in the United Kingdom as a possible alternative to existing public examinations. Three key features of graded tests are: (1) emphasis on student success; (2) a progressive sequence of levels; and (3) tasks to be mastered by candidates being clearly specified. (LMO)