Despite their advantages over other assessment techniques, current achievement and ability tests are not especially efficient sources of information for the range of educational decisions for which they are used and relied upon. Two major types of tests, criterion-referenced and norm-referenced, and two types of use, student evaluation and program…

The potential use of criterion referenced tests (CRT) and norm referenced tests (NRT) in the same testing program is discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of each are listed, and the best solution, a merging, is proposed. To merge CRTs and NRTs into an overall testing program, meaningful and useful to all levels, consideration must be given…

As part of the Quality Assurance procedures, a final test was administered to a sample of the classes participating in the 1970-71 Instructional Concepts Program (ICP). The posttest was designed to measure end-of-program performance on each of the six program outcomes: Color, Shape, Size, Position, Amount, and Pre-Mathematics. This report…

This paper delineates several problems which arise when criterion-referenced test results are used to evaluate the effects of a specific educational treatment. Focus is on these topics: (1) the aggregation of individual students' data on objectives, (2) the sensitivity of the instrument to instruction, (3) the interpretation of…

While much has been written on the topic of criterion-referenced testing and consequently its comparison with norm-referenced testing, measurement specialists have not as readily approached the subject of the implications involved in reporting such test information. The purposes of this paper are to (1) draw distinctions between criterion and…

An information feedback system for use in evaluating an educational program is described, and its effectiveness in evaluating the Follow Through program and its use in relation to the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills are discussed. The systems approach to program evaluation consists of objectives clarification, decision making, and program planning. In…

A description of two proposals for alleviating the racial and ethnic bias in tests of achievement used in schools is presented. One of them entails adding steps to the construction procedures used in building norm referenced achievement tests; the second entails using criterion-referenced achievement tests rather than standardized tests for…

A transition program at the American College of Life Underwriters which is moving into criterion-referenced measurement, but is also maintaining some of the desirable aspects of norm-referenced measurement, is discussed. Two programs that have moved into the criterion-referenced measurement area are the Cassette/Review Program of the Zimmerman…

A norm-referenced achievement test, in combination with supplementary items, can be used to produce norm-referenced data as well as objective-referenced data. The experiences of the Palm Beach County (Florida) school district in developing and using such a test are described. (EGS)

This paper discusses a process model designed for the Kansas City (Missouri) School District. The model attempts to achieve the translation of student learning tasks into an operational and accountable program of instruction on a five year cycle plan. A flow chart of the model is presented and appropriate segments and outcomes of the process…

This paper addresses the use of multiple regression in the analysis of reading and math scores. The data presented in the paper were from the Mesa Public Schools in Arizona, and were compiled during the 1975-76 school year. Five criterion factors were selected for investigation: (1) third grade Stanford reading scores, (2) third grade criterion…

The goal of the district assessment program of the Des Moines (Iowa) school district is to provide information which improves teaching and increases learning. Students participate in a number of assessment activities, including norm-referenced, standardized tests, college entrance examinations, Advanced Placement Tests, the district's…

The Conference sought to provide a user-based and -oriented assessment of performance contracting for education. It focused on delineating the current interest in performance contracting, the technique's demonstrated strengths and weaknesses, and its potential as an alternative approach to school system resource allocation. Six commissioned papers…

Procedures are described to conduct summative evaluations of Talents Unlimited programs. It is assumed that school counselors, administrators, or personnel minimally trained in measurement and statistics are capable of conducting the evaluation, except for doing the statistical analysis. The procedures are composed of: establishing measurable…

This paper highlights some special characteristics of criterion-referenced tests while comparing them with norm-referenced tests. Psychometric considerations involved in constructing a criterion-referenced test, including item analysis, reliability, and validity, are discussed, along with application of criterion-referenced testing to individual…