Four criterion-referenced reliability coefficicents were compared to the Kuder-Richardson estimates and to each other. The Kuder-Richardson formulas 20 and 21, the Livingston, the Subkoviak and two Huynh coefficients were computed for a random sample of 33 criterion-referenced tests. The Subkoviak coefficient yielded the highest mean value;…

A general framework for making mastery/nonmastery decisions based on multivariate test data is described in this study. Over all, mastery is granted (or denied) if the posterior expected loss associated with such action is smaller than the one incurred by the denial (or grant) of mastery. An explicit form for the cutting contour which separates…

Ordinal response modes for multiple choice tests are those under which the examinee marks one or more choices in an effort to identify the correct choice, or include it in a proper subset of the choices. Two ordinal response modes: answer-until-correct, and Coomb's elimination of choices which examinees identify as wrong, were analyzed for scoring…

The Vocational Performance Sample (VPS), a vocational assessment instrument for the severely retarded, integrates norm referenced technology with current innovations in domain referenced tests and learning potential assessment. The domains are based on a systematic sampling of types of training procedures and types of discriminations and/or…

Fair, valid, and reliable measurement of dependent variables is a concern in personnel evaluation studies. Performance tests, that is, job or work sample tests, situational tests, and job learning or trainability tests, are being used with increasing frequency as measurement techniques capable of meeting these needs. The three categories of…

Three areas of concern related to test bias and validity should be considered during the revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. The first area concerns the sources and consequences of test bias. Five sources of bias have been identified: numerical bias, role bias, status bias, stereotypic bias, and familiarity bias. The…

In 1973, kindergarten children in a rural village in Texas were tested with the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. For the next 2.5 years, children from successive grades in the same school were given the same test. During the entire period over 200 children had been tested, but of the original 53 pupils only 20 took the test all three times…

The evaluation model for mastery testing as proposed by Emrick (1971) represents an empirical approach to determining the most appropriate mastery criterion score that should be established in those testing situations which entail decision making relative to the continued progression or possible recycling of students in a given learning sequence.…

The purpose of this study was to administer the revised "Inventory of Teacher Knowledge of Reading" by Artley and Hardin to a representative population of teachers, and to secure information concerning the factorial validity and reliability of the instrument. The subjects included 552 inservice elementary education teachers, elementary…

The self concepts of multiethnic Spanish speaking children were measured using a Spanish translation of the Self Appraisal Inventory, Primary Level, developed by the Instructional Objectives Exchange in Los Angeles, in cooperation with the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title III programs throughout the United States. The test was administered…

The Sherman-Kulhavy Laterality Assessment Inventory (LAI), an instrument for determining cerebral laterality, was administered to 1,000 undergraduates to determine the ability of the LAI to discriminate between right- and left-dominant groups. Each S was administered the LAI, a 45-item verbal report instrument which assesses both fine and gross…

The report summarizes research on the development and standardization of objectively scored language and adjustment scales for five cards of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) used in the Health Examination Survey of a subsample of 1,398 youths 12-to 17-years-old. Described is the development of cognitive and personality measures derived from…

As part of the instrumentation to assess the effectiveness of the Schools Without Failure (SWF) program in 10 elementary schools in the New Castle, Pa. School District, this 30-item School Attitude Scale was developed to measure children's attitudes toward school in grades 1-3. A faces response form was used. Reliability for this form averaged .89…

As part of the instrumentation to assess the effectiveness of the Schools Without Failure (SWF) program in 10 elementary schools in the New Castle, Pa. School District, the Opinionnaire on Attitudes Toward Education was used as a measure of teacher attitudes toward child-centered education, discipline, and the desirability of understanding pupils'…

The current interest in an educational technology that stresses adaptation to individual student differences has resulted in such individualized systems as Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) and Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI). However, such systems are not the answer to an avoidance of standardization of students. No one has yet…