A latent trait method is presented to investigate the possibility that Angoff or Nedelsky judges specify inconsistent probabilities in standard setting techniques for objectives-based instructional programs. It is suggested that judges frequently specify a low probability of success for an easy item but a large probability for a hard item. The…

A fixed-pace video-lesson which had adjunct questions (AQs) interspersed throughout was viewed by 134 freshman psychology students to determine if AQs have a facilitative effect on relevant and/or incidental learning from a videotape lesson, and, if they do, to discover the optimal combination of the factors of position and type of question, and…

This study focuses on basic mathematical skills mastered by middle school students. A test designed for the investigation was administered to 400 seventh- and eighth-grade pupils in three middle schools in Houston, Texas. The test, which focuses on fractions, was administered by the regular mathematics teacher during the mathematics class period…

The purpose of the investigation was to obtain some relationships among (1) test lengths, (2) shape of domain-score distributions, (3) advancement scores, and (4) several criterion-referenced test score reliability and validity indices. The study was conducted using computer simulation methods. The values of variables under study were set to be…

A program of health education was instituted in 1974 in three counties of Appalachian Maryland, beginning in fifth grade and designed eventually to include sixth and seventh grades. The first phase was a workshop for approximately 165 teachers designed to take them through the same learning experiences that they would provide to their own…

Students undergoing a mastery-variable time-variable undergraduate educational psychology course were studied in order to determine the effects of level of mastery chosen (by the students for a final grade) on time taken to reach criterion level over five course examinations. When equated for trials to criterion, no such grade aspiration effect…

Differences among test item writers and among different rules for writing multiple choice items were investigated. Items testing comprehension of a prose passage were varied according to five factors: (1) information density of the passage; (2) item writer; (3) deletion of nouns, as opposed to adjectives, from the sentence in order to construct…

The increasing use of criterion referenced testing (CRT) among the various branches of the federal government is described. The requirements of the merit system have tended to promote the use of norm referenced tests except for uses such as pass/fail performance tests. The two areas in which criterion-referenced tests have been most useful are…

A sixth-grade mathematics test was evaluated in two different ways, and the evaluations were compared. One method of evaluation was to use the Rasch model for item analysis and to accept or reject items on the basis of the extent to which the data fit the model. The other method of evaluation was to ask school superintendents and teachers to rate…

The Mathematics Achievement Test Project (MATP) was set up by the Learning Assessment Branch of the Ministry of Education of British Columbia to develop testing materials to assist teachers throughout the province in the task of evaluating students' performance in mathematics. The two major objectives of the project were to construct "banks" of…

The document provides the revised curriculum guide for Project SOCRATES, a program designed for academically gifted students in grades 4 and 5. The guide is organized according to the project's four goal areas: development of creative thinking, for casting, reasoning, and planning and decision making. Under each goal are listed objectives and…

Using informal, objectives-based, or linguistic methods, three elementary school teachers and three experienced item writers developed criterion-referenced pretests-posttests to accompany a prose passage. Item difficulites were tabulated on the responses of 364 elementary students. The informal-subjective method, used by many achievement test…

The document presents the final report of a project to develop and validate a three-phase system of individualized criterion-referenced assessment instruments to provide professional decision makers with reliable information regarding a mentally handicapped person's skill level at different stages of normalization training. An overview of…

The Harris Index of Efficiency was used to evaluate the criterion setting (66%) of the Prescriptive Reading Inventory (PRI), a criterion referenced reading test. The subjects, who were involved in a larger experimental study that used the PRI as a criterion measure, were 92 third and fifth grade students. Initial assessment with the Comprehensive…

Sample test questions are given for the Proficiency Testing Program adopted by the Idaho State Department of Education. Except for the writing skills test item, which requires a writing sample, all questions are objective, multiple choice items. Sample questions are given for reading, spelling, and mathematics. (MH)