Criterion-referenced Test Development: Technical and Legal Guidelines for Corporate Training [Hardcover]

Sharon A. Shrock (Author), William C. Coscarelli (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787988502 | ISBN-13: 978-0787988500 | Publication Date: September 21, 2007 | Edition: 3

Criterion-Referenced Test Development is designed specifically for training professionals who need to better understand how to develop criterion-referenced tests (CRTs). This important resource offers step-by-step guidance for how to make and defend Level 2 testing decisions, how to write test questions and performance scales that match jobs, and how to show that those certified as ?masters? are truly masters. A comprehensive guide to the development and use of CRTs, the book provides information about a variety of topics, including different methods of test interpretations, test construction, item formats, test scoring, reliability and validation methods, test administration, a score reporting, as well as the legal and liability issues surrounding testing. New revisions include:

• Illustrative real-world examples.
• Issues of test security.
• Advice on the use of test creation software.
• Expanded sections on performance testing.
• Single administration techniques for calculating reliability.
• Updated legal and compliance guidelines.

Order the third edition of this classic and comprehensive reference guide to the theory and practice of organizational tests today.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This is the third edition of the classic and comprehensive reference guide to the theory and practice of competency testing in organizations and professions. Criterion-Referenced Test Development has been thoroughly revised and updated to address the most recent issues in certification and qualification testing.

Criterion-Referenced Test Development is designed specifically for training professionals who need to better understand how to develop criterion-referenced tests (CRTs). This important resource offers step-by-step guidance for how to make and defend Level 2 testing decisions, how to write test questions and performance scales that match jobs, and how to show that those certified as "masters" are truly masters. A comprehensive guide to the development and use of CRTs, the book provides information about a variety of topics, including different methods of test interpretations, test construction, item formats, test scoring, reliability and validation methods, test administration, and score reporting, as well as the legal and liability issues surrounding testing. New revisions include:

• Illustrative real-world examples

• Issues of test security

• Advice on the use of test creation software

• Expanded sections on performance testing

• Single administration techniques for calculating reliability

• Updated legal and compliance guidelines

The authors have created a very accessible guide with information that is easily grasped and implemented. In addition, the book is filled with relevant exercises that require active responses and reinforce mastery of the principles and procedures.

About the Author

Sharon Shrock is professor of Instructional Design and Technology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where she coordinates graduate programs in ID/IT. She is the former co-director of the Hewlett-Packard World Wide?Test Development Center. She is a past president of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology's Division of Instructional Development and has served on the editorial boards of most of the major academic journals in the instructional design field.

Bill Coscarelli is professor in the Instructional Design specialization at Southern Illinois University Carbondale's department of Curriculum & Instruction and the former co-director of the Hewlett-Packard World Wide?Test Development Center. Bill has been elected as president of the International Society for Performance Improvement and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology's Division for Instructional Development. He was the founding editor of Performance Improvement Quarterly and ISPI's first vice-president of Publications.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer; 3 edition (September 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787988502
• ISBN-13: 978-0787988500
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for Anyone Who Measures Training Effectiveness!, July 13, 2006

By 

D. LaMay - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Criterion-Referenced Test Development 2nd Edition (Paperback)

Do you conduct training in the workplace? Do you measure the training's effectiveness using testing? Do you design certication exams? If so, this is the book for you!

Criterion-Referenced Tests (CRTs), unlike the similarly complicated sounding Norm-Referenced Tests (NRTs), are used to measure individual competencies in skills or knowledge objectives. That is, they're used to determine whether a person "makes the cut" or doesn't. Individual's are not ranked against each other in a CRT exam, and there is no limit to the number of individuals who can succeed or fail. This type of exam is particularly well-suited to measure the learning (at Kirkpatrick's Level II) that took place during training.

All of this is eplored in a straightfoward manner as you are stepped through the entire process of designing competancy exams, including the statistics you need with plenty of examples.

We used to pay lip-service to seeing what our trainees had learned in our professional classes - now we quantify it precisely using this text.