Collaborative testing has been shown to improve performance but not always content retention. In this study, we investigated whether collaborative testing could improve both performance and content retention in a large, introductory biology course. Students were semirandomly divided into two groups based on their performances on exam 1. Each group…

Achievement tests may be either norm-referenced or criterion-referenced. The norm-referenced test indicates an individual's proficiency level with respect to other individuals. A criterion-referenced test measures an individual's performance with respect to a specific level along the continuum of attainment. Further, an achievement test may be…

Results of the present study appear to suggest that the PIAT and WRAT may be used interchangeably to assess the achievement levels of learning disabled children. (Author)

Having no faculty or classrooms and offering no courses by mail or television, the external degree program at Thomas Edison State College in Pennsylvania is described as an accredited program whereby college credits are gained primarily through the use of CLEP (College Level Examination Program) tests and individual assessment. (BM)

Effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the Peabody Individual Achievement Test mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Items on the math and reading recognition subtests were significantly easier or harder than test placements indicated. (Author)

Reviews the "Quick-Score Achievement Test" (Q-SAT), an individually administered measure of school achievement for use with students aged 7-18, which has two forms and yields scores for reading, writing, arithmetic, facts, and general achievement. (SKC)

Criticisms of grading systems are discussed and a variation on the contract system is presented as an alternative. Students select types of assignments they wish to attempt as a "menu" and requirements are stratified according to student skill and experience level. (ND)

A multitrait-multimethod matrix was used to ascertain the convergent and discriminant validity of the subtests of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Correlations among scores earned by educable mentally retarded children on PIAT and WRAT subtests were similar to those reported for retarded adolescents by Sitlington (1970). (Author)

Criterion-referenced measurement (CRM) has received increasing attention in regular education. However, it is in education for handicapped children that CRM's flexibility for individualization of both instruction and evaluation become even more fully realized. Research is described on one of the first CRM systems (Individual Achievement Monitoring…

The most striking aspect of this study is that the PIAT, designed and standardized for children in the educational mainstream, is as applicable to Mexican-American children as to their Anglo counterparts. Consequently, the PIAT may be advantageous as a screening instrument with this culturally specific population. (Author)

Reviews the Diagnostic Achievement Test for Adolescents (DATA), a test designed to be individually administered to estimate student achievement (for ages 12 to 18) in a variety of academic areas. Concludes that the test is well constructed and easy to use. (SKC)

Scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) from 250 children were factor analyzed. Results offered support for interpreting WISC-R scores in terms of verbal and performance scales and for interpreting WRAT scores as a separate achievement factor. (Author/HLM)

The 27 papers in this collection (26 of which were presented at the conference) are organized according to the eight topical sessions: (1) Improving Ability Measurement Using Different Item Formats, (2) Alternative Models for Adaptive Testing, (3) Psychological and Subgroup Effects, (4) Performance Testing by Interactive Simulation, (5)…

Students at two age levels were given paper and pencil mathematics tests as well as individually administered practical tests. Test development and administration are discussed, and some results of the experiment are presented. (SD)

Coventional true score approaches to criterion-referenced tests are not applicable when tests are used for classification. Criterion-referenced testing is now used frequently for educational decision making. The assumption is made that these instruments are to be considered as tests designed to classify into "mastery" and "non-mastery" groups,…