A model of verbal performance was developed which defined cognitive processes thought to underlie performance on the Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension subtests of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The items from two forms of these ASVAB verbal subtests were rated on five conceptualized cognitive storage processes:…

This manual contains information for conducting regular student surveys at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Questionnaires, designed for new, returning, and former student populations, are presented together with the methods by which the instruments should be administered. Guidelines for data analysis and report writing are also outlined. The…

This unit of instruction on energy conservation in field crop production was designed for use by agribusiness and natural resources teachers in Florida high schools and by agricultural extension agents as they work with adults and students. It is one of a series of 11 instructional units (see note) written to help teachers and agents to educate…

Designed as an overview of the 1979 and 1980 Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP) in fourth, eighth, and eleventh grade reading, this report presents the results for each grade level along with performance comparisons between years and topic areas (using sources of information and reading in the social sciences, literature, and the…

This document is one of five learning packets on alternative energy developed as part of a descriptive curriculum research project in Arkansas (see note). The overall objectives of the learning packets are to improve the level of instruction in the alternative energies by vocational exploration teachers, and to facilitate the integration of new…

This booklet is designed to help parents gain a better understanding of testing and its role in the education of their children. Answers to questions concerning the different types of tests given in schools, differences among these tests, how test results are used, what test scores mean and how the scores affect students are provided. Several…

The paper reports on a study of social studies tests and their relationship to National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) curriculum guidelines. The study had two objectives: (1) derive learning objectives based upon the NCSS Curriculum Guidelines (1971) and the NCSS Curriculum Guidelines for Multiethnic Education (1976), and (2) acquire a…

A variety of terms related to test bias or test fairness have been used in a variety of ways, but in this document the "fair use of tests" is defined as equitable selection procedures by means of intact tests, and "test item bias" refers to the study of separate items with respect to the tests of which they are a part. Seven…

Test results from the Florida Educational Assessment of third and fifth grade communications and mathematics skills were used to compare linear and Rasch equating results. The samples consisted of over 5,000 cases for each grade and content area. The tests contained some items common to both the 1976 and 1977 test forms, but no fewer than 20…

The relationship among writing assessment strategies which may be applicable to competency based testing was examined in a study involving 128 high school students in six English classes in grades 11 and 12. Each student wrote two essays of at least 200 words on topics designed to test expository, or explanatory writing, and completed an objective…

An equating study was conducted on the Certifying Examination for Primary Care Physician's Assistants to compare the ability of current examinees with the standardization group and to determine if current test items are more difficult than previous items. Using 46 common items from the multiple choice section, the 1978 exam was equated to the 1976…

Sixty college students from classes in educational measurement were divided into two groups. Each group was administered the same criterion test except that one group received feedback after every item and the other received no feedback. The students were also divided into three ability levels. Each test item was classified two ways; by item…

To discover factors which contribute to a high response rate for questionnaire surveys, the preferences of 150 college teachers and teaching assistants were studied. Four different questionnaire formats using 34 common items were sent to the subjects: open-ended; Likert-type (five points, from "strong influence to return," to…

The merits and hazards of minimum competency testing for the individual student or for student groups are discussed. Types of groups which lend themselves to group application and some important factors in determining the parameters of a group are discussed. Ten critical issues related to minimum competency testing are identified: (1) scope of…

The possibility that certain features of items on a reading comprehension test may lead to biased estimates of the reading achievement of particular subgroups of students was investigated. Item response data on the reading comprehension section of a frequently used achievement test were obtained from the Anchor Test Study data files. Eight…