A three-part correlational study examined the explanatory power of the Lexile theory of reading comprehension, which was based on the semantic and syntactic components of prose. Correlations were performed between the item difficulties of nine nationally normed reading comprehension tests and computer generated difficulties which were reported in…

Previous studies in the area of testing frequency are scarce and outdated, but provide results showing that college students performance improves on objective tests when more frequent tests are given. The purpose of this study was to measure college students' performance on more frequent tests by reducing a unit of study into smaller segments,…

The comparative effects of various sequences of test items were examined for over 900 graduate students enrolled in an educational research course at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. experiment, which was conducted a total of four times using four separate tests, presented three different arrangements of 50 multiple-choice items: (1)…

A study was designed to develop a number of tests of oral proficiency and to compare those tests with the existing, highly subjective testing method used at the end of secondary school in Israel. The study used four experimental tests: the oral interview, role playing, reporting task, and group discussion. The experimental tests were analyzed for…

Assumptions have been made about the growth and development of reasoning and communicating skills in college. This study describes a standardized set of assessments of reasoning, writing and speaking with norms for freshmen and seniors and multiple equated forms. The study provides evidence of the validity and reliability of these assessments.…

This study reports a preliminary investigation into the relationship of different subsets of student attitudes toward economics. A 49-item attitude form was developed with six subscales representing distinct aspects of attitudes toward economics: (1) satisfaction with current grasp of economics; (2) capability for understanding economics; (3)…

A project was conducted to develop and test three criterion-referenced achievement tests for use in Oklahoma's Dietetic Support Personnel training program. The training program is a competency-based course of instruction that is designed to prepare food service and production workers for employment in Oklahoma's health care industry. Initial…

A study examined the relationship of attitudes of vocational student teachers to their plans to teach. Also investigated during the study was an alternative method of scoring the Purdue Student-Teacher Opinionnaire. (The Purdue Student-Teacher Opinionnaire is a 60-item questionnaire that yields factor scores pertaining to the following areas:…

Prior research in a single clinical training setting has shown Cason and Cason's (1981) simplified model of their performance rating theory can improve rating reliability and validity through statistical control of rater stringency error. Here, the model was applied to clinical performance ratings of 14 cohorts (about 250 students and 200 raters)…

The proposed standard for judging proficiency test score reliability requires that the proportion of items passed for each objective assessed be a dependable estimate of the universe score for the domain strata established by the objective. Domain breadth is the focusing issue. Data from a field trial of the Tennessee Proficiency Test are analyzed…

The most common approach to self-management research has been to apply it to a specific target behavior, without attending to the generalizability of changes to other facets of one's life. A procedure for measuring self-management effectiveness under real world conditions was developed which emphasized the successful application of self-change…

This text is designed to accompany workshop instruction in student assessment technique for the purpose of evaluating bilingual programs. It is addressed to those involved with bilingual programs generally, educators directly involved in planning and implementation, and research and evaluation specialists. The contextual variables that affect the…

The effects of aggregation on the reliability of measures of academic performance were explored in two studies. In the first study, 30 elementary-age children were tested four times on the same forms of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests and the Ginn 720 Reading Passage measures. Group stability coefficients, within-subject reliability…

A sample of slightly over 1500 students was drawn from even-numbered grades in public schools of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and was given the 1973 edition of the Stanford Achievement Test (in grades 2,4,6, & 8) and the Test of Academic Skills (grades 10 and 12) to assess student academic achievement in the basic skill areas of mathematics,…

A follow-up study of two instruments for evaluating college writing was conducted. The experimental scale (E Scale) was developed in 1976 and revised for this study. The control scale (C Scale) was described in the literature in 1977. Ten English majors graded ten essays from diagnostic entrance exams. Both the E Scale and the C Scale were used,…