As one in a series of test items collections developed by the Assessment and Evaluation Unit of the Directorate of Studies, the guide gives a wide range of questions and activities for the manipulation of scientific equipment to allow assessment of students' practical laboratory skills. Instructions are given to make norm-referenced or…

An overview of the articles and definition of terms for the journal topic of domain reference testing. (HB)

The discussion on criterion-referenced (CRT) and norm-referenced achievement tests (NRT) is divided into two parts: definitions and use. The authors contrast CRTs, tests which compare an individual's performance to some specified behavioral criterion of proficiency, and NRTs, tests which compare an individual's score to scores of others. They also…

Current uses of standardized English tests are adversely affecting students, misleading lay people, and having a pernicious effect on the English profession. These tests are severely limited, incapable of assessing speaking skill and effectiveness, reading interests, appreciation of literature, listening skill, understanding and appreciation of…

A criterion-referenced test is one that is used to identify an individual student's status with respect to an established standard of performance. This standard of performance, a performance objective, describes the expected student behavioral changes and the conditions and criteria under which these changes will occur. The specificity of the…

The process of determining test norms and of using them realistically is discussed. This process involves putting meaning into a single test score by relating it to other test scores achieved by other pupils or by the same pupil at other times. The focus of attention is on the meaning of test norms; it is not on the meaning of types of test…

One of a series dealing with reading, mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, cultural arts, health, and physical education, this report on reading is designed to help North Carolina teachers in planning instructional programs for public school students and to inform the general public of students' educational needs and attainments.…

A HOW-to-do-it kit for educatorsinterested in measuring career path development by utilizing criterion measures with domain objectives is presented in the format of a Self-paced, career path module. A career path refers to the growth from career exploration to career identity. A module is habitually composed of four parts: objectives, pretests,…

This report of the Task Force on Measurement and Evaluation in the Study of English (appointed by the National Council of Teachers of English) analyzes the present state of the art of testing and recommends the use of common sense in selecting and using tests and in interpreting the information derived from testing. The report views standardized…

Present definitions of the criterion-referenced test are discussed, insufficiences noted, and a new definition proposed. Some examples of criterion-referenced tests are examined and used to educe some general principles for the development of such tests. The utility of item form processes is assessed. It is suggested that the difficulty of…

The philosophical underpinnings of the typical testing practices of speech communication teachers in regard to norm-referenced measurement contain several assumptions which teachers may find untenable on closer inspection. Some of the consequences of these assumptions are a waste of human potential, inefficient use of instructional expertise,…

This experiment was designed to assess the ability of item writers to construct truly parallel tests based on a "duplicate-construction experiment" in which Cronbach argues that if the universe description and sampling are ideally refined, the two independently constructed tests will be entirely equivalent, and that within the limits of item…

Bayes Theorem leads to three indexes of item effectiveness: 1) probability that an examinee knows the content given that the correct response was selected; 2) probability that an examinee does not know that content given that an incorrect response was selected; and 3) probability of making a correct decision about the examinee's knowledge given…

Although word recognition tests continue to be widely employed by teachers, the application of out-of-date norms and varying methods of administration and scoring seriously reduce the usefulness of these tests. As a result, a restandardization of the Burt-Vernon and Schonell tests was undertaken to produce reliable norms and to standardize…

Proposes a new form of educational assessment termed "standards-referenced assessment." The approach blends much of the motivation and philosophy of criterion-referenced assessment with direct and extensive use of teachers' qualitative judgments. Identifies four methods of specifying and promulgating educational standards. (Author/JDH)