Presents data from validation study of American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency (OPI). Distinctness of OPI ratings from scores generated by Test of English as a Foreign Language and one other examination is assessed on basis of comparisons among 70 sets of scores from students of English as Second Language who…

This investigation seeks to confirm a computer-based approach that can be used to score concept maps (Poindexter & Clariana, 2004) and then describes the concurrent criterion-related validity of these scores. Participants enrolled in two graduate courses (n=24) were asked to read about and research online the structure and function of the heart…

This paper provides an overview of standardized tests and a summary of important psychometric and test construction properties that educators must consider when they make critical evaluations of standardized tests. Sections of the paper concern: (1) basic characteristics of standardized tests; (2) differences between norm-referenced and…

Findings are presented from a study designed to develop a physical education criterion reference test (CRT) and to devise norms for intellectually normal, educable mentally impaired, and trainable mentally impaired students (3-12 years old). The lack of valid and reliable CRT batteries for meeting the physical education needs of handicapped…

An urban school district affected by testing in the effective schools context is described in order to provide examples of the effects of testing on teaching and the curriculum. The report describes the method of operationalizing the effective schools research using test information. An important catalyst to improving the instructional program was…

Examines six areas of controversy surrounding testing--test validity, the role of affective objectives, criterion-referenced tests, test bias, IQ tests, and the effect of competition. (IRT)

This booklet is planned to help teachers, parents, students, and community members to understand concepts and research relating to testing in public schools. Three general uses--public access, accountability, and standards--relate to testing in its broadest conception. The major purposes of tests are discussed, as are some different types of…

When criterion-referenced tests are used to assign examinees to states reflecting their performance level on a test, the better known methods for determining test length, which consider relationships among domain scores and errors of measurement, have their limitations. The purpose of this paper is to present a computer system named TESTLEN, which…

Two ESEA Title I evaluation models developed by the Resource Management Corporation (RMC), were field tested simultaneously with 560 Title I reading students, grades 2-8. Measuring instruments for models 1 and 2 were, respectively, the California Achievement Test (reading vocabulary section), a norm-referenced test; and the Tarmac Reading…

The job of the 4-H extension agent involves fairly complex levels of performance. The curriculum for the extension agent program should produce youth workers who have the ability to perform competently and who possess the basic concepts and values required to function effectively. Performance objectives were written for each competency considered…

Different viewpoints regarding educational testing are described. While some people advocate continuing reliance upon standardized tests, others favor the discontinuation of such achievement and intelligence tests. The author recommends a moderate view somewhere between these two extremes. Problems associated with standardized testing in the…

As an alternative to a classical test theory basis for criterion-referenced test construction, it is proposed that a strict item-sampling model be used. The computer's role in such a model is outlined. The assumptions of the model are carefully defined and its properties reviewed. The relationship between mastery criteria and such sampling plans…

The validity of the word attack skill tests of the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development is studied at six grade levels by an investigation of the relationship of these to several widely known reading achievement tests. The basic notion is that reading mastery scores derived from the diagnostic tests should be positively related to the…

While the usefulness of branched testing over conventional paper-and-pencil testing has been in doubt, particularly for the student of average ability, this has been with reference to normative measures rather than the criterion-referenced measures characteristic of individualized instruction. A computer-assisted test model for assessing an…

Implicit in most of the recommendations for teaching reading is the inclusion of structural analysis as a part of the instructional program for developing skills in word recognition. This study focused on the development and standardization of a criterion referenced syllabication skills test designed to evaluate the individual proficiency of…