Integrates and amalgamates norm-referenced and criterion-referenced perspectives in a manner that is particularly appropriate for use in basic or introductory speech communication performance courses. Notes that students prefer criterion-referenced grading for performances but prefer norm-referenced grading for content components of the course.…

This research report presents new young adult norms for the Test of Adolescent/Adult Language-3 (TOAL-3) using data from the Ottawa Speech and Language Study (N=242). It is thought this population better represents the full range of young adult language abilities (because the original norms included only individuals who pursued postsecondary…

Discusses the results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Emphasizes the differences in students' everyday lives in different nations and describes how these differences can affect mathematics achievement. (ASK)

Investigates the validity of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC) by examining the appropriateness of the standardization norms with other nonclinical samples. Findings suggest that the children in this study form a separate and distinct group from the well-adjusted children upon which the RATC scales were normed and supports previous…

This article reviews the "ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Checklist, norms, and clinical interpretation," is a norm-referenced checklist that measures the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric…

Norm-referenced tests yield information regarding a student's performance in comparison to a norm or average of performance by similar students. Norms are statistics that describe the test performance of a well-defined population. The process of constructing norms, called norming, is explored briefly in this paper. Some of the most widely reported…

Suggests that when MMPI responses are secured from black samples and interpreted according to traditional actuarial or code book descriptions the questionnaire is capable of working against the welfare of man. (Author/AM)

Presents problems in intelligence testing, then proposes rationale to cease the administration of intelligence tests. (DW)

Some basic statistical concepts relevant to the teacher--mean scores, standard deviation, normal and skewed distributions, z scores, item analysis, standard error of measurement, reliability--and their use by the teacher are explained. (RM)

Grouping students to facilitate instruction alone, instructional delivery systems which maintain student dependency on teachers, the practice of teaching to disseminate information without mastery, class norm-referenced grading practices, and study habits which focus on getting grades, help produce the educational dilemma faced today. In mastery…

Discussed is testing in the field of career education for the handicapped, with emphasis on four major topics: applied performance testing, criterion validity studies, product vs. process measurement, and criterion vs. norm-referenced measurement. The author reviews some political considerations relevant to this area of testing. (IM)

In an attempt to identify classroom teacher views of national achievement testing, and to examine potential implications for classroom practice and faculty professional development, 124 teachers in Great Britain were surveyed. Data gathered from the survey indicated: (1) 65% of the teachers were generally opposed to national achievement testing in…

When 74 sixth-grade special education students were tested on the fifth-and fourth-grade levels of the 1977 California Achievement Test, their scores dropped significantly, although converted to in-level norms. Test validity, measured by the number of students scoring at floor level, on the in-level versus below-level norms, was subtest dependent.…

The purpose of the research was to explore an alternative implementation strategy for Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I evaluation Model A; that is, the use of Rasch calibrated item banks rather than traditional norm-referenced tests. A methodology for obtaining normative information for such banks involved equating a normed test with…

The paper presents guidelines for evaluation of learning disabled adolescents and reviews measures available for use in the diagnosis of the handicapped student. Discussed are the advantages and disadvantages of norm referenced and criterion referenced measures. A checklist for use with students suspected to have difficulties is outlined.…