ERIC Number: ED202918
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
What the Test Score Really Reflects: Observations of Teacher Behavior During Standardized Achievement Test Administration.
Horne, Leslie V.; Garty, Mary K.
This study focuses on standardized test administration in five elementary schools. The authors discuss how teachers affect test validity by altering standard test procedures in both planned and incidental ways. Each of the 16 voluntary teachers who participated in this study was observed in her/his classroom administering certain subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests or the Stanford Achievement Test. Information gained from interviews with the teachers was used along with the observational data in order to better understand the teachers' behavior. Although the observations were begun expecting teachers to adhere strictly to the directions as outlined in the test manual, a wide range of teacher behavior was noted across the sixteen classrooms--nonstandard teacher behavior being observed in over one-half of the classrooms. These observations fell into three groups: (1) teachers who followed the directions closely; (2) teachers whose deviations were not systematic and appeared to be unintentional; and (3) teachers who consciously and purposely varied the test administration procedures. Findings highlight the importance of further study of teacher-introduced factors that may affect test validity. (Author/RL)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Carnegie Corp. of New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (65th, Los Angeles, CA, April 13-17, 1981).