Standardized reading tests and associated issues involved in the teaching of reading skills are discussed, with illustrative examples of reading tests commonly used in Australia. The nature of standardized reading tests is analyzed, and the circumstances under which such tests should be used are outlined. Interpretation of scores from standardized…

Discusses the necessity for the use of test score data in measuring school effectiveness. Outlines the types of tests best suited to particular schools. (MD)

Higher elementary student scores on standardized tests do not mean educational improvement. Scores can be affected by teaching "to" the test, coaching on test taking, and skewed norms. Test scores have been declining at the secondary level. Included is a discussion of secondary tests. (MD)

This manual summarizes technical information regarding the 1982 Stanford Achievement Test, Seventh Edition when administered to hearing-impaired students. In Section 1, the procedures used to select the norming sample (7,557 hearing-impaired students) are described, and the demographic characteristics of the resulting sample are compared to those…

The Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude (H-NTLA) (Hiskey, 1966) has been regarded by reviewers as one of the best instruments for assessing the learning abilities of hearing-impaired children. However, there has been a paucity of research on the validity of this test. Further, there is no established test-retest reliability, and questions…

The efficacy of Raven's Matrices in the gifted identification process is reviewed, focusing on their reliability, validity, and fairness and comparing them with other intelligence tests. It is concluded that, despite problems with narrowness of scope and standardization practices, these tests provide a useful screening device for intellectually…

To facilitate the proper technical use of the test scores obtained from the administration of the tests, the curricular and psychometric characteristics of the tests are described in a series of technical manuals. This manual, the seventh in the series, contains a description of the characteristics of the North Carolina Test of Chemistry. The test…

This article uses a question-and-answer format to describe the major categories of technical information usually presented in technical manuals for tests used by speech/language clinicians, including logical evidence of validity, empirical evidence of validity, types of reliability estimates, and practical issues in applying standardization data…

Intended for use by early childhood practitioners who select and use early childhood assessment instruments, this guide provides information needed to judge instrument appropriateness and technical quality. The guide focuses mainly on standardized, broadly available instruments. Criteria for selecting instruments include publication after 1979,…

This report describes two studies, one comparing Florida students' performance to national norms on the General Educational Development (GED) tests, the other comparing performance on the GED tests and the Florida State Student Assessment Test, Part II (SSAT-II). In the first study, a representative sample of 1,200 high school seniors completed…

This guide--written for school administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, and the community--describes educational tests and measurements and test-related statistics. While specifically intended to help readers interpret the tests administered in the Los Angeles (California) Unified School District, this information may also be used to…

This technical supplement to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Counselor's Manual presents the current research that has accumulated on the ASVAB. Information in this supplement was collected from published and unpublished sources, both civilian and military. This supplement contains both actual results of data analyses and…

This manual, which provides extensive new instructions for administering the Functional Assessment Inventory (FAI), is intended to enable counselors to begin using the inventory without undergoing any special training. The first two sections deal with the need for functional assessment and issues in the development and use of the inventory. The…

The purpose of this project was to construct a valid and reliable noncurriculum specific measure of integrated science process skills intended for use with middle school students. The major efforts in test development were focused on the refinements and modifications of the set of objectives and test items assessed by the existing Middle Grades…

Designed to assist community college practitioners in understanding and utilizing standardized test results for making instructional, guidance, and administrative decisions, this three-part guidebook examines the uses of test results, the evaluation of standardized tests, and procedures for interpreting test scores. Section I discusses the…