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UBC Theses and Dissertations

Development of the British Columbia quick individual educational test Wormeli, Charles T.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop an individualized screening achievement test to assess academic achievement among British Columbia elementary pupils. In British Columbia there was no individualized test standardized for use with British Columbia pupils and which was specifically referenced to British Columbia curricula and materials. Examiners who administered individualized standardized tests had to rely solely on instruments developed in other countries and normed on samples drawn from the populations of these countries. Recent research has indicated that such tests are not valid for use in British Columbia. Holmes (1981) found that the predicted means and variances of five individually administered intelligence tests, standardized in other countries, differed significantly from those of B. C. pupils. Because of the high correlation between achievement and scores on intelligence tests, it is likely that achievement tests developed for pupils in other countries are also not valid for use with B. C. pupils. Furthermore, the content of these tests is not well related to what is taught in B. C. schools; scores on these tests do not reflect, as closely as they might, pupils' achievement in relation to B. C. school curricula and materials. To remedy this situation, an individualized screening achievement test, the B. C. QUIET, was developed and validated in the present study. Four subtests were proposed: writing dictated words, solving written arithmetic problems, reading isolated words aloud and supplying orally the answers to CLOZE-type reading comprehension items. Items were specifically referenced to B. C. curricula and materials prescribed or authorized by the provincial Ministry of Education for use with elementary pupils. Test development included two tryouts, each designed to examine the clarity of instructions and the efficacy of individual items. The test was normed on approximately 150 pupils at each of grades 1-7. The means were generally linear from grade level to grade level for each subtest; standard deviations were similar from grade level to grade level. All but four of the 26 subtest x grade level combinations showed internal consistency reliabilities of .80 or above. A' validation study was performed at grades three and six to determine the ability of the test to discriminate remedial from non-remedial pupils. At grade three the scores of 91 pupils receiving instruction in reading, spelling and/or arithmetic were compared with the scores of 43 pupils in the norming sample who were not receiving remedial instruction. At grade six 61 remedial pupils were compared with non-remedial pupils. By using subtest scores singly and in combination 79% to 100% of the pupils were correctly classified into the appropriate groups.

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