ERIC Number: ED414331
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1998
Pages: 190
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-205-17539-2
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Test Scores and What They Mean. Sixth Edition.
Lyman, Howard B.
The first edition of this book was written to give information about testing to people whose work gave them access to test results, but whose training included little or nothing about the use and interpretation of tests. Later editions have been intended for a broader audience as the need for understanding what test scores really mean has expanded. The quality of tests has improved greatly in this century, but it is even more important to understand test results as their uses become more widespread. The emphasis in this book is on maximum performance, objective, select response, written, standardized group psychometric tests, which may be power or speeded, and hand or machine scored. It is also concerned primarily with norm-referenced, rather than criterion-referenced tests. The following chapters provide information about what test scores really mean: (1) "Learning about Test Scores"; (2) "Basic Attributes of the Test" (validity, reliability, and usability); (3) "The Language of Testing"; (4) "What's New in Testing Today?"; (5) "Social Responsibility and Testing"; (6) "A Few Statistics"; (7) "Information about Tests"; (8) "Derived Scores"; (9) "Test Profiles"; (10) "Don't Forget Common Sense"; (11) "What Can We Say"; and (12) "Closing Remarks." An appendix includes a glossary of terms, a list of test publishers, a bibliography, a code of professional responsibilities in educational measurement, and a score conversion table. (Contains 37 references.) (SLD)
Descriptors: Educational Testing, Norm Referenced Tests, Performance Based Assessment, Psychometrics, Scores, Standardized Tests, Test Construction, Test Interpretation, Test Reliability, Test Results, Test Use, Test Validity
Allyn & Bacon, 160 Gould Street, Needham Heights, MA 02194 ($40); Internet: www.abacon.com.
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Community; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A