Articles in this report are based on the data obtained by the Adult Functional Reading Study. This study examined the reading activities of American adults and tested adults' performance on functional reading tasks. The supplement contains several articles concerned with the reading skills required to read and answer or perform the reading tasks…

This report includes the application for validation, the state review form, and the on-site validation form for a demonstration center based on a computer-managed system of reading instruction. The project seeks to provide locally constructed diagnostic tests, computer-indexed teaching materials, criterion-referenced tests, and periodic summaries…

The literature on criterion referenced testing is full of discussions concerning whether classical measurement techniques are appropriate, whether variance is necessary, whether new indices of reliability are needed, and the like. What appears to be lacking, however, is a clear and simple discussion of why the problems occur. This paper suggests…

In this paper, an attempt has been made to synthesize some of the current thinking in the area of criterion-referenced testing as well as to provide the beginning of an integration of theory and method for such testing. Since criterion-referenced testing is viewed from a decision-theoretic point of view, approaches to reliability and validity…

This article presents views of proponents and opponents to standardized tests, isolates the major weakness of testing--questionable validity--and offers several recommendations for the betterment of test development and use. Some major misuses of tests include the following: (a) tests are at times administered with no clear purpose; (b) test…

The four parts of this report are: (1) the purposes of evaluation and reporting; (2) relationship to educational philosophy and methods of teaching, including historical development, present reporting practice and criticisms of these practices, and alternatives to conventional grading; (3) the best way to report student achievement; and (4)…

The need for an empirically defensible means of sequencing instruction appears to have been the primary motivator for research into learning hierarchies. Also, valid learning hierarchies could act as congealing forces in individualizing instructional systems by providing psychological roadmaps for diagnosing students' preinstructional skills and…

The assumptions of the classical test-theory model are used to develop a theory of reliability for criterion-referenced measures which parallels that for norm-referenced measures. It is shown that the Spearman-Brown formula holds for criterion-referenced measures and that the criterion-referenced reliability coefficient can be used to correct…

This objective referenced test for an early childhood education program was written after examination of approximately 20 tests designed for evaluation of preschoolers. The test measures the attainment of performance objectives in self-awareness, language skills, cognitive skills, career awareness, and determines whether youngsters are ready for…

The orientation of this report is that of identifying educational projects which can be considered truly exemplary. The bulk of the report consists of a 23-step procedure for validating the effectiveness of educational programs using existing evaluation data. It is not intended as a guide for conducting evaluations but rather for interpreting data…

Test construction is not the strictly logical process that we might wish it to be. This is particularly true in a large on-going project such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Most of the really deep questions can only be answered by the exercise of well-informed human judgment. Criterion-referenced testing is still a term…

A curriculum has been designed to teach the following 5 components of motivation to achieve in school: (1) affective, or enjoying school, (2) conceptual, or seeing oneself as a learner, (3) purposive, or goal setting, (4) instrumental, or actively moving toward goal attainment, and (5) evaluative, or self-assessing progress toward goals. Field…

Grades, as conventionally conceived and used, are failing the educational system. There are numerous mistakes made in the computation of grades and grade point averages. They become the end of the educational endeavor instead of an evaluation procedure. They are psychologically damaging to two-thirds of the students because of their inability to…

At the 1970 meeting of the American Educational Research Association a symposium, jointly sponsored by the National Council on Measurement in Education, was presented on the topic "Criterion-Referenced Measurement: Emerging Issues." The following papers were presented: "Instructional Technology and the Measurement of Learning Outcomes: Some…

Efforts to develop a collection of reading test items suitable for measuring adult literacy are described. The project, part of Project I of the Targeted Research and Development Program in Reading, sought to identify characteristics of literacy levels and to define tasks which might be used in a criterion-referenced test to assess possession of…