The impetus for test-based accountability systems is to improve the educational opportunities afforded to all students so as to improve their learning; therefore, integral to the validity argument of these systems is the appraisal of test-based inferences and decisions in terms of their consequences. Both positive and negative consequences of…

This chapter is a research summary of the author's doctoral dissertation completed in May, 2015, which investigates the way Standardized Assessment (SA) is used in state educational accountability structures. This quasi-experimental quantitative study found that SA scores trend towards consistency over time, and that there is additional variance,…

This manual contains information about the American College Test (ACT) Plan® program. The principal focus of this manual is to document the Plan program's technical adequacy in light of its intended purposes. This manual supersedes the 2011 edition. The content of this manual responds to requirements of the testing industry as established in the…

One purpose of this study was to compare the incremental effectiveness over high school grade point average (GPA) alone of the American College Testing Program (ACT) assessment, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and the California Achievement Tests (CAT) in predicting college freshman GPA. A second purpose was to look at the relative…

Correlations between the achievement test scores of 2,000 entering freshmen in 1977 and measures of college performance were similar to those reported for tests of the college entrance type. These results provide support for the predictive validity of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development achievement test…

"High Schools That Work" (HSTW) is a school improvement initiative that was inaugurated by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) in 1987. The main purpose of this concurrent validity study is to evaluate one or more measures by investigating their relationship to other commonly used and established measures given at or about the…

The American College Testing (ACT) Objective Test was evaluated over a one-year period for its ability to assess general educational outcomes with Associate of Arts degree candidates at the General College of the University of Minnesota. It was concluded that the ACT did not provide an adequate measure of educational gains and might be culturally…

Institutional averages of entering freshman scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) were combined and edited to produce a single institutional measure of selectivity for 2,601 institutions. Correlations were made between scores and 19 institutional attributes. (Editor/LBH)

A study was done of the relationship between the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment and the ACT/COMP (College Outcomes Measures Program) test and general intellectual ability of college students. The subjects for the study were 133 undergraduates, mostly freshmen, in Introductory Psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The…

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the American College Test (ACT) in predicting academic achievement of students from an area which is culturally, economically, and educationally depressed. The population, chosen from 6 community colleges serving the Appalachian region of Kentucky, consisted of 1,127 full time (12 or more…

Assessment programs like the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) continue to play an important role in the admission decisions of many colleges. In many cases, they also serve a meaningful counseling and guidance function for high schools and colleges. The data reported in this paper suggest that the two programs can…

Researchers surveyed Kentucky high school seniors to collect data on and compare the results of the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS) open-response reading results and ACT reading multiple-choice format. Results found a great deal of disagreement between the KIRIS and ACT reading results. (SM)

This collection of original papers, first published in the June and July, 1976 issues of Educational Technology Magazine, was prompted by the enormous public outcry which greeted the general public realization that achievement and college aptitude test scores were continuing in recent months and years the steady erosion which began in the…

The effects of test content reflecting black or white culture, on the performance of college-bound students of both races was examined. Eighty-five culture-specific items were developed for use in the English Usage and Social Studies Reading subtests of the ACT (American College Testing) Assessment Program. Items were administered as four separate…