Addressing Glass' argument (EJ 198 842) that a lack of interrelater reliability is an inherent deficiency in the Nedelsky technique, poor rater training and the need for a group decision procedure are presented as standard setting problems. (CM)

To determine if a given standard-setting procedure will yield consistent evaluation outcomes, one of three parallel certifying examinations was administered to three classes of second year medical students. The results indicated that the standard-setting procedure is a significant factor in the determination of the evaluation outcome. (Author/BW)

Presents a strategy for the curricular design and assessment of one multidisciplinary program goal: understanding human behavior. Discusses how to assess a desired outcome based on four specific areas: (1) organizational context; (2) articulation of a learning model; (3) program design and implementation; and (4) outcomes assessment. (Author/KDR)

Means of establishing standards for teacher certification tests are discussed. Focus is on the requirements and implications of the 1985 "Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests" and the 1978 "Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures" that apply to the establishment of teacher certification test standards.…

A newly developed performance standard-setting procedure, termed iterative judgmental policy capturing (JPC), is applicable to assessments composed of distinct multidimensional exercises. The procedure is described, and results are reported from the application of JPC in a study involving a panel of 20 teachers and 6 performance exercises. (SLD)

The New Standards Project has designed research to describe educational standards in other countries using an ethnographic case-study approach. Data review and analysis are organized by fundamental questions, the answers to which constitute a contextualized account of what students are expected to know and be able to do. (Author/SLD)

Several extensions to the Angoff method of standard setting are described that can accommodate characteristics of performance-based assessment. A study involving 12 panelists supported the effectiveness of the new approach but suggested that panelists preferred an approach that was at least partially conjunctive. (SLD)

The articles of this special issue propose two methods of deriving an initial standard and one method for determining the extent to which the standard should include compensation. Much work remains to be done on further development of the methods and the larger issues of policy regarding performance assessment. (SLD)

Two studies involving a total of 99 experts examined the reproducibility of standards for 2 medical certifying examinations set under different conditions. Together, results of both studies provide evidence that a modified version of the Angoff method is quite reliable and produces stable results under varying conditions. (SLD)

Both a classification of the relatively new standards-setting consortia and a theoretical basis for their emergence are developed. It is noted that the theory is based on the confluence of political theory and the theory of markets, and the implications of these consortia for the standards-setting process are considered from theoretical and…

Characterizing this special "Kappan" section on test-based accountability as a cautionary plea, this article sees five themes: tests seldom measure what matters; standardization gets confused with standards; tests constitute a limited reform lever; test-based accountability plans often misplace trust and protection; and the…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is developing a certification process, rather than a test, to confer distinction on experienced teachers who meet demanding standards. The role of performance assessment in this voluntary certification is discussed, and the research goals of the NBPTS are described. (SLD)

Standards, designed to identify and measure the "value added of schooling," are instrumental, not an end in themselves. Every school district needs an academic audit, a systematic way to examine and analyze academic performance by relevant categories. Its purpose is to improve the allocation of district resources to increase academic…

Credentialing programs were surveyed to determine the procedures they use to set performance standards on multiple-choice and open-ended assessments. Implications of the various standard-setting approaches for the National Assessment of Educational Progress are discussed, and it is asserted that generalizing from standard-setting in professional…

Lessons that can be drawn from the standard-setting practices of the U.S. military services for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are explored. The main lesson, and distinction, to be learned is that standards must be grounded in real-life outcomes that affect the lives of educators, something not characteristic of the present…