This report discusses major areas of research dealing with the evaluation of college student performance. Three types of measurement which have been systematically examined are: examinations for which academic credit is awarded, criterion-referenced tests, and assessment of extracurricular achievement. The report is divided into an "Overview,"…

Standardized tests are devised to sort students out, comparing them on a scale from high to low, not to discover what students know. Thus, results of standardized tests are misleading in representing the achievements of educational programs and in comparing one school or school system with another. Criterion tests, however, measure directly and…

Student achievement in mathematics at the sixth-grade level was assessed in this study. A sample of 4,047 students under 160 teachers in 114 schools, 26 school districts, and 10 counties are given a criterion-referenced mathematics test. The McGraw-Hill Prescriptive Mathematics Inventory (PMI-Aqua Level) was selected for use in this pilot program.…

Since mid-1971 the Instructional Objectives Exchange has been engaged in a major effort to develop and disseminate criterion-referenced tests in the fields of reading, mathematics, language arts, and social studies. This paper isolates the chief technical decision-alternatives faced in this project, such as: (1) the optimal number of tests to…

Since no attempt had been made to determine classroom teachers' knowledge and understanding of the rules of Black English as identified by linguists, this study was designed to construct an appropriate instrument which could be administered to classroom teachers who want to work successfully with lower-class black children. Criterion-referencing…

The basic steps and procedures in the development of criterion referenced tests (CRT), as well as the issues and problems associated with these activities are discussed. In the first section of the paper, the discussions focus upon the purpose and defining characteristics of CRTs, item construction and selection, improving item quality, content…

A historical description and chronological account of an experience in which an urban school system adopted a criterion-referenced testing program through contract with a publisher is given. A proposal was developed, objectives reviewed, and tests constructed and reviewed. Reports and training programs for school staff were also developed. The…

This bibliography is an attempt to assemble and annotate published and unpublished papers, studies, and related articles that have some bearing on criterion-referenced measurement. Conciseness and accuracy are two major criteria in the description of the content of the materials. An attempt was made to avoid critical comment. The 52 items included…

The relationship between conservation and achievement is examined on specific tests and test items on the Stanford Achievement Test Battery used in the elementary years. Specifically, performance on two tests (Word Meaning and Arithmetic Concepts) were analyzed according to subjects level of thinking (concrete or formal) for total score,…

A discussion of criterion-referenced measures is presented. Two characteristics define the criterion-referenced measure: the presence of a performance criterion, and test items keyed to a set of behavioral objectives. The performance criterion, in an educational setting, is usually a relative standard of performance. There are two ways of…

The purpose of this study was to develop a taxonomy which would categorize high level physics problem-solving behaviors, and to examine the usefulness of such a classification system. This classification of learning objectives is based on complexity, a nonarbitrary measure which does not rely upon comparison between students but rather is based on…

This booklet was developed in response to Ohio Education Association members' concern in developing behavioral objectives. It characterizes well-formulated behavioral objectives as: (1) stated in precise language that clearly defines the behavior; (2) establishing a performance or behavior expectancy level; (3) describing the conditions under…

A defense of the use of standards with criterion-referenced testing is made in response to Glass's article (TM 504 031). (JKS)

The validity of five methods of estimating the reliability of criterion-referenced tests was evaluated across nine conditions of variability among item means. The results were analyzed by analysis of variance, the Newman-Keuls test, and a nonparametric procedure. There was a tendency for all of the methods to be conservative. (Author/JKS)

Several Bayesian approaches to the simultaneous estimation of the means of k binomial populations are discussed. This has particular applicability to criterion-referenced or mastery testing. (Author/JKS)