Do we control tests, or do these instruments of measurement control us? Standard scores, percentiles, norms, standard deviations and other elements of measurement can assist the educative process or degenerate into mechanical crutches. There is general consensus among most educators that learning is a multifactor experience involving, among other…

A nontechnical approach to statistics is presented. The examples and illustrations have been drawn from the classroom and the needs of teachers who wish to measure and understand the progress of their pupils. The areas covered include the following topics: (1) different forms of average, middle value, dispersion of data around the average, and the…

It is now widely agreed that current ability measures reflect a complex interaction of environment with genetic potential. This leads to a basic measurement problem since persons with the same measured ability may vary widely in potential due to non-equivalent learning opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to present a model which may hold…

Using post-secondary vocational education students as the populations, these two sub-studies of the Project MINI-SCORE sought to determine the extent to which pre-enrollment standardized test data can be used to predict vocational success. For the purpose of the study, vocational success was defined either as successful graduation or successful…

The Test Collection Bulletin is a quarterly digest of information on tests in education and psychology. The extensive Test Collection of the Educational Testing Service includes publishers' catalogs and descriptive materials, information on scoring services and systems, test reviews, and reference volumes on testing. The tests are indexed by…

In an Israeli community of low socioeconomic status, conventional ability measures and the Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) were administered to 165 high-achieving intermediate grade students and their classmates. High-achieving students scored higher than classmates on both conventional and LPAD measures but scored higher than the norm…

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) conducted an analysis of recent academic data collected from 24 KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) schools on behalf of the KIPP Foundation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate these data to determine whether KIPP schools have had a positive impact on the student learning of 5th-grade students as…

This study developed a normative core profile taxonomy of the four scholastic aptitude and corresponding achievement scales of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (Revised). Cluster analysis was used to sort 2,620 students from the standardization sample. Results of internal and external validity analyses provided support for eight…

A comparison was made of ability and achievement test results and school grades for 323 pairs of Swedish male and female twins and 740 controls in relation to social background. An interaction effect of sex and social background was found for verbal ability and mathematics test results. (SLD)

Describes the evolution of "race-norming," or "within-group scoring," the practice by which job candidates' scores on employment tests are reported relative to comparison groups of their own race or ethnicity. Contends that race-norming fosters group rather than individual rights and perpetuates the inequality it intends to…

Describes a microcomputer-based examination system based on multiple choice questions (MCQ) that has been used for the assessment of aptitude in chemistry. The ability of the system to generate a test based on a student's previous performance is explained, and the system design and implementation are detailed. (eight references) (Author/LRW)

Opinions about the purpose and effectiveness of test preparation seminars vary, but it is clear that preparation for standardized tests is here to stay. The literature suggests that students do benefit from preparation for standardized tests. The effect of test preparation seminars on standardized achievement tests was studied for 30 of 100 high…

This paper discusses whether or not revisions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) have created such significant differences between the two tests that a student could conceivably score significantly higher on one than the other. The SAT has been revised to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student…

The book is designed to help language teachers write better tests, taking the view that test construction is an exercise in problem-solving, with every teaching situation presenting a different problem that an understanding of the underlying principles of testing can help solve. Examples are given from testing of English as a Second Language…

Results of applying different aptitude-achievement discrepancy models for test scores were compared for 150 second, 150 third, 150 fourth, and 130 fifth graders in several school systems in the Southeast who had been referred for psychoeducational testing for learning disabilities to determine whether different groups of students were identified…