Preface
SECTION ONE: EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT IN AMERICA: HISTORY, GOALS, AND APPLICATIONS
1. Issues and Measurement Practices in the Schools
Accountability, Assessment, and Testing
Types and Varieties of Tests
Assumptions Made by Test Developers
Educational Ethics and Testing
2. History of Testing in American Education
Scientific Measurement and Racism
Contemporary Public Schools
SECTION TWO: THE MEANING AND QUALITY OF TEST SCORES
3. The Measurement and Description of Variables
4. Reliability as a Measure of Test Quality
Standard Error of Measurement
Factors with an Impact on Reliability
Reliability of Cut Scores
Reliability of Performance Tasks and Criterion Tests
5. Validity as a Measure of Test Quality
Validity: The Traditional Context of Validity
SECTION THREE: TESTING OF STUDENTS BY CLASSROOM TEACHERS
6. Planning and Constructing Classroom Tests
7. Classroom Development and Use of Extended Answer Tests
Completion or Short Answer
8. Item Selection and Analysis
A Priori Qualitative Assessment and Analysis of Tests
Item Analysis with Constructed or Supply Type Items
Computer Adaptive Testing
Item Response Theory (IRT)
9. Performance Assessments
Assessment and Instruction
Performance Based Assessments
10. Grades, Progress Reports, and Report Cards
Purposes of Report Card Grades
Report Card Grades for the Gifted
Grades and Students with Special Needs
The Case of Transfer Students
Grade Point Average and Class Rank
Teacher-Parent Conference
SECTION FOUR: TESTING FOR STUDENT LEARNING, TALENT, APTITUDE, AND SPECIAL NEEDS
11. Standardized Measures of Learning
Explaining Test Scores to Parents
Major Achievement Test Batteries
State Mandated Assessments
12. Testing of Aptitude and Selection
Scholastic Aptitude and Intelligence
Training of Test Administrators
Tests of Intelligence Administered One-on-One
Tests of Intelligence Administered to Groups
Group Administered Aptitude Tests
Assessment of Talented and Gifted Children
Assessment of Aptitude for College Study
13. Identification of Learning Problems
Instructional Support Team
Referral, Assessment, and the IEP Committee
Formal Assessments of Attention and Focus
Assessments of Reading Problems
Assessments of Language and Speech Problems
Measures for the Identification of Problems Learning Mathematics
Individualized Educational Plan
Accommodations for Children with Disabilities
SECTION FIVE: NO CHILD, TEACHER, OR SCHOOL LEFT BEHIND
14. International, National, and Statewide Testing Programs
International Comparisons
15. Student, Family, and Teacher Factors in Test Scores
16. Test Preparation for Successful Schools
Legal and Ethical Requirements
Architecture and School Design
17. Accountability and Evaluation
Systematic Program Evaluation
Steps in a Systematic Evaluation
References
Glossary
Index
About the Author