Year-to-year rater variation may result in constructed response (CR) parameter changes, making CR items inappropriate to use in anchor sets for linking or equating. This study demonstrates how rater severity affected the writing and reading scores. Rater adjustments were made to statewide results using an item response theory (IRT) methodology…

The purpose of this study was to determine if students' definitions of reading and self-perceptions/attitudes as readers are related to word recognition and comprehension performances. The study also examined if students' definitions of reading were related to a tendency to exhibit learning difficulties. Subjects were the entire third-grade…

A large school district conducting a revision of its curriculum-based assessment program for grades one through six introduced performance assessments in response to a demand for more authentic assessment associated with national concerns for standards-based educational reform. This study reports validity evidence for the locally developed reading…

Although the standard-setting method of W. H. Angoff (1971) has broad-based support in the research literature, inconsistencies in the resulting standards do occur. Sources of these inconsistencies are examined in a study of judges, competencies (items), rounds (replications), and the interactions among them. A modified Angoff approach was used to…

This study explored the relationship between test anxiety and metacognitive word knowledge on performance on a reading comprehension test. One hundred and seventeen college students completed four paper and pencil measures: (1) a self-report measure of test anxiety; (2) an archival test of reading ability; (3) a metacognitive word knowledge task;…

How two students with the same number-correct score, calculated by dramatically different patterns of responses, can achieve the same ability estimate is demonstrated. The present study investigated the incidence of person misfit to the model in a nationally standardized test of achievement devised using the Rasch item response theory model. It…

A six-phase management effectiveness strategy that can be employed by secondary classroom reading teachers to facilitate and improve the learning of students whose reading skill needs are severely deficient, is outlined in this document. The first phase, the inventory, requires teachers to list and group all reading materials available. In phase…

The development of the Alberta Diagnostic Reading Program (ADRP) was based on a current psycholinguistic theory that describes reading as a process in which the reader uses background information to communicate with the author. To ensure its usefulness and effectiveness, the developers of the ADRP sought the advice and direct involvement of many…

The reading achievement test scores of 239 low-income, southern, urban black students in grades three through eight were compared with their ability to comprehend the social studies books used in their classrooms. Achievement scores were obtained from the reading subtests of the Stanford Achievement Tests. A cloze passage was developed based on…

The Assessment Tool for Moderately Retarded Students in Academic Skills (1978) is designed for moderately retarded students (5-21 years) and mildly retarded students (3-14 years) who will be living in sheltered home and work settings. The assessment tool is based on a life centered curricular model concerned with developing--in a sequential…

The relationships typically existing between scores on reading tests and college grades are described. The four purposes are to: present some of the typical relationships between reading ability and college success; report upon some of the evidence supporting other possible predictors of college success; describe some of the problems associated…

Drawing on a cross-national study of children's reading, a study examined the correlates of reading success and failure in Taiwan. Subjects, 240 randomly selected Taipei fifth graders, were administered a reading test, cognitive test, and mathematics achievement test. A structured interview with each child's mother and classroom behavior…

The cultural bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment, Form AA-l (APLA) was examined. The potential influence of cultural differences on scores of a major ethnic group, Acadians or Cajuns, was investigated. Assessment items most prone to produce differences in scores were isolated and administered to selected groups. No significant…

Three different item-bank maintenance procedures were compared for the purpose of investigating their cumulative effects on a series of longitudinal equatings of tests measuring the same characteristic. Item data used resulted from Rasch one-parameter latent trait test calibrations. Comparison of the results in the various final banks were made.…

This paper discusses some specific issues about testing and relates the discussion to reading teachers and reading instruction. The issues that are discussed include the goals, criteria, and methods of classroom assessment. The paper concludes that teachers need to learn more about the process of assessment in order to use tests effectively, and…