While major test publishers randomly select school districts for their national norming studies, a survey of "accepting" and "declining" districts supports the hypothesis that self-selection bias results in overrepresentation of districts which already use a specific publisher's tests or instructional materials. (Author/BW)

Discusses the use of the SAT score for placement into college-level developmental skills programs and the appropriateness of using this type of norm referenced testing in placing students. Criterion referenced tests are suggested for assessing specific student skills necessary for college work. (RAO)

The appropriateness of the starting points for Peabody Individual Achievement Test subtests as suggested by the test authors was investigated. For a sample with an average IQ of 98, there was an average difference of nearly eight points between suggested starting points for the mathematics subtest and the actual basals. (Author)

To realize the dividends from the relationship between testing and teaching, teacher and administrator preparation and inservice training must be redesigned so that professionals are equipped to interpret results from norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests designed by experts. (JOW)

The inclusion of young children with disabilities has remained a function of the Head Start program since its inception in the 1960s when the United States Congress mandated that children with disabilities comprise 10% of the Head Start enrollment (Zigler & Styfco, 2000). Standardized, norm-referenced tests used to identify children with…

In an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of their information literacy program, librarians at Stephen F. Austin State University began comparing average course grades in course sections that receive IL instruction to grades in sections that do not. The results varied, revealing no clear benefit to information literacy instruction. We discuss…

Seventeen nationally normed, standardized achievement tests were judged appropriate by the Illinois Title I Test Review Committee for use with Model A-1 in evaluation of Illinois Title I programs. They are the California Achievement Tests, CIRCUS, Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Iowa Tests of Educational Development,…

Resources in Education, the Current Index to Journals in Education, and Psychological Abstracts were computer searched in order to identify documents and journal articles which describe the derivation, use, and misuse of grade equivalent scores, those scores which reflect a student's performance in a test or battery of tests according to grade…

Validity coefficients, standard errors of estimate, and prediction are discussed. An argument is made for the potential utility of tests with validity coefficients of .60, .50, .40, and even .30, because they can predict the extremes, which is especially valuable for many purposes, such as counseling, college admissions, and personnel selection.…

Correlations with Binet IQ in the ITPA normative sample were corrected for restricted intelligence range. The corrected correlation for the Psycholinguistic Quotient is as high as that between the WISC and the Binet, a finding that raises a serious question about the construct validity of the ITPA. (Author)

Discusses the usefulness of criterion-referenced tests and norm-referenced tests in gathering data appropriate for decision-making in relation to the basic characteristics of the two types of test, the purposes for which the test information is used, and the kind of information needed for decision-making. (BR)

This study examined the validity and reliability of a short obesity knowledge scale. A 12-item test was developed covering etiology of obesity, diseases related to obesity, weight loss techniques, and general information on obesity. Four test formats were compared, revealing that the scale needs further validation. (Author/MT)

Illustrates a method for generating continuously adjusted age norms using the normative data for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). Specific procedures for calculating age-adjusted Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores also are demonstrated, with a worked example. Comparisons show continuous norming scores are more…

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A review of the literature finds that the criteria developed by Stark and Tallal (1981) for the selection of children with specific language impairment for research purposes continue to be used, in part or in whole, in current research. Additional information on the use of norm-referenced tests with this population is also provided. (Author/DB)