Uneven school coverage of ages makes general age norms for achievement tests practically impossible to establish¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 1920 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In City C large percentages of children at each age would be missed by a third-through-eighth-grade testing (63 per cent of eight-year-olds, 35 per cent of nine-year-olds), and a Junior High School test would test no more than 45 per cent of children at any age, so satisfactory age norms cannot be obtained. → Pressey 1920

Evidence¶

Pressey 1920¶

Pressey, S. L. (1920). Two Important Points with Regard to Age-Grade Tables. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Two+Important+Points+with+Regard+to+Age-Grade+Tables

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Descriptive analysis of what fraction of each age would be covered by achievement testing given the two cities' age-grade distributions; in City C 63 per cent of eight-year-olds and 35 per cent of nine-year-olds would not take the examination at all. The author concludes general age norms are practically impossible under these conditions.

"A test given to the Junior High School of City C would not test more than 45 per cent of the children at any age. A similar test in City F would get scores from 62 per cent, of the thirteens, the highest per cent at any age."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Drawing ability scores rise from grade IB to grade 8A, but the data support group norms rather than a distinctive norm for each grade — related
• The scale differentiates pupil material between schools in neighborhoods of different character — related
• Median-age comparison of two cities shows children in City C substantially older per grade than in City F (first grade nearly six months, fourth grade over eight months) — related