This report contains two papers that resulted from the Multilevel Evaluation Systems (MES) Project. The first paper is "Political and Practical Issues in Improving School Boards' Use of Evaluation Data" by Joan Herman. The second paper is "Principals: Their Use of Formal and Informal Data" by Shari Golan and Jeanne Dreyfus. The…

Uses of the variety of scores generated by standardized achievement tests are discussed. Desirable characteristics of scales, raw score scales, percent of correct items, percentile ranks, grade equivalents, normal curve equivalents, and scale scores are considered. The various meanings and purposes of each type of score are discussed. It is…

If sociolinguistics involves the specification and analysis of sociological, interpersonal, and pragmatic variables at issue in given language-use situations, and discourse anaysis is the observation and analysis of both linguistic and paralinguistic features of speech events within these situations, there are at least three areas in these…

Reviews the Test of Practical Knowledge, a multiple choice test of "functional competency," noting that the test's task requirements are confounded by such factors as intelligence, achievement, social knowledge, and reading ability. (HOD)

Specific aptitude clusters from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) are examined to determine their effectiveness in evaluating aptitude-achievement discrepancies. Advantages of the Scholastic Aptitude clusters over the Broad Cognitive Ability clusters are outlined. Major types of discrepancies, rationale, and research on the…

Four methods are outlined for estimating or approximating from a single test administration the standard error of measurement of number-right test score at specified ability levels or cutting scores. The methods are illustrated and compared on one set of real test data. (Author)

In a confidence weighting situation, the examinee is asked to indicate the correct answer, and how certain he or she is of the correctness of that answer. This paper reviews the bases for confidence marking, its validity and accuracy in evaluating students, and it's use in research. (BW)

In June 1995, the Scottish Council for Research in Education began a 5-month study of the Standard Entrance Examination (SET) to the police in Scotland. The first phase was an analysis of existing recruitment and selection statistics from the eight Scottish police forces. Phase Two was a study of two police forces using a case study methodology.…

This guide provides information about the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and Texas end-of-course examinations. It displays and explains examples of the TAAS and end-of-course standard and optional reports to assist school personnel in understanding and interpreting student performance data as required by the Texas Education Code. The…

The aim of this article is to provide teachers with interesting and intelligible ways of interpreting fitness test results to students. Also shown are ways that fitness testing can be used to diagnose fitness needs, provide a basis for exercise prescription, help monitor progress, and individualize fitness education concepts. (IAH)

The instructional impact of criterion-referenced testing during the past three decades is reviewed, and a method of devising criterion-referenced tests is suggested that departs from the usual model. Adding verification along the lines of panel review that newly constructed test items do elicit appropriate information is suggested. (SLD)

Theoretical and practical issues that must be considered in the design, use, and interpretation of large-scale assessments that use collaborative small-group work are explored. It is necessary to ensure that collaboration works toward, rather than against, the purposes of the assessment. (SLD)

The concept of "washback," especially prominent in the field of applied linguistics, refers to the extent to which a test influences teachers and learners to do things they would not otherwise necessarily do. Some writers invoke the notion of washback validity, holding that a test's validity should be gauged by the degree to which it has…

Issues emerging from a look at student achievement, which is defined in its usual school context as achievement on standardized tests, are addressed. A mythology about standardized testing has developed, in part because the metaphoric languages of medicine and business have been applied to education, defining it in terms of cure, efficiency, and…

This paper proposes that instructional validity (i.e., the extent to which teachers actually teach the skills that are tested) should be part of the test development process. The development of a district-wide ninth-grade math exam for General Mathematics I (GMI) in the Charleston County School District, South Carolina, is used to illustrate how a…