Evaluation, learning and instruction are complex and inter-related processes. A sound philosophy and methodology of evaluation demands that evaluation be considered in context. (Author)

A combination of self-directed learning and teacher-directed learning provides a rich and flexible learning experience and accommodates various teaching styles. The key to a successful mixture is the appropriate use of criterion-referencing and normative-referencing for learner evaluation. (JOW)

Reviews four uses for norm-referenced tests of reading comprehension. Concludes that three of the uses are actually misuses and that the only appropriate use is for predicting future student performance. (FL)

Raises questions about the wisdom of relying on any single measure, especially a norm-referenced one such as the ACT, for making selective admission, retention, and certification decisions in teacher education. (FL)

The Nedelsky procedure and two modified versions of the Ebel procedure were used by judges to set pass-fail levels on a medical certification examination in general surgery. Results indicated that the approaches produced different passing scores. The Ebel procedures displayed higher reliability than the Nedelsky approach. (Author/RD)

The normative and mastery grading systems are characterized and some assumptions basic to each are contrasted under the headings of knowledge, teaching, and students. Teachers, it is suggested, can work to avoid destructive influences of the teacher-student-grading relationship by careful subject matter preparation, grading system selection, etc.…

With psychometric tests (that is, norm-referenced tests), nearly all scores fall into one of three categories: those based on comparison with an absolute standard; those based on inter-individual comparison; or those based on intra-individual comparison. These are described and all commonly used metrics are discussed. (Author/RL)

Majority of testing programs is designed to demonstrate the superiority of performance of one student over another rather than evaluate the degree to which an individual has mastered specific skills. The necessity of changing this orientation is discussed. (RW)

A study examined test-retest reliability, practice effects, and relations among normed measures of word identification and spelling and experimental measures of achievement and reading-related cognitive processing in 78 children (ages 6-8) with reading disabilities. There were strong relations between normed measures of decoding and spelling and…

Second-language (L2) researchers suggest that C-tests, developed as norm-referenced measures for proficiency and placement testing, can be used in L2 vocabulary research. This article illustrates how researchers can use measurement theory for L2 research by weighing validity justifications. A theoretical definition of vocabulary ability is…

The unfulfilled promise of criterion-referenced measurement is that it would permit valid inferences about what a student could and could not do. To come closest to achieving all that criterion-referenced testing originally promised, tests of higher item density, with more items per amount of domain, are required. (SLD)

Concerns about norm-referenced achievement tests involve (1) the purposes of the tests (comparability of results); (2) the content of the tests; (3) psychometric screening of test items; (4) the form of tests items; (5) the interpretation of summary scores; and (6) the construct validity of the tests. Offers guidelines for use of norm-referenced…

Outlines the rationale, critical dimensions, and techniques for using peer micronorms for determining developmental delays in young children and discusses technical adequacy considerations. Case examples of the use of peer micronorms with preschool children, supplemented with hypothetical data, are used to illustrate the technique. (CR)