| Achievement test | An instrument used to measure the proficiency level of individuals in given areas of knowledge or skill.
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| Age-equivalent score | A score that indicates the age level for which a particular performance (score) is typical.
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| Anecdotal record | Records of observed behaviors written down in the form of anecdotes. The best anecdotes tell exactly what the participant did or said without making evaluative statements in the process of reporting this information.
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| Aptitude test | An instrument used to predict performance in a future situation.
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| Attitude scale | A set of statements to which the participant responds.
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| Criterion-referenced instrument | An instrument that specifies a particular goal, or criterion, for students to achieve.
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| Data | Any information obtained about a sample or a population.
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| Derived scores | A score obtained from a raw score in order to aid in interpretation. Derived scores provide a quantitative measure of each student's performance relative to a comparison group.
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| Flowchart | Types of tally sheets used to indicate the frequency and direction of a participant's remarks.
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| Grade-equivalent score | A score that indicates the grade level for which a particular performance (score) is typical.
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| Instrument | Any device for systematically collecting data, such as a test, a questionnaire, or an interview schedule.
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| Instrumentation | Instruments and procedures used in collecting data in a study.
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| Interval scale | A measurement scale that, in addition to ordering scores from high to low, also establishes a uniform unit in the scale so that equal distance between two scores is of equal magnitude.
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| Nominal scale | A measurement scale that classifies elements into two or more categories, the numbers indicating that the elements are different, but not according to order or magnitude.
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| Norm group | The sample group used to develop norms for an instrument.
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| Norm-referenced instrument | An instrument that permits comparison of an individual score to the scores of a group of individuals on the same instrument.
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| Objectivity | A lack of bias or prejudice.
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| Ordinal scale | A measurement scale that ranks individuals in terms of the degree to which they possess a characteristic of interest.
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| Percentile rank | An index of relative position indicating the percentage of scores that fall at or below a given score.
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| Performance checklist | Used to keep track of behaviors that occur.
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| Performance test | Measures an individual's performance on a particular task.
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| Procedure | A detailed description by the researcher of what was (or will be) done in carrying out a study.
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| Questionnaire | A list of questions that the participant answers in writing or by marking answers on an answer sheet.
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| Rating scale | An instrument on which a researcher or participant or observer can record a rating of a behavior, a product, or a performance.
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| Ratio scale | A measurement scale that, in addition to being an interval scale, also has an absolute zero in the scale.
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| Raw score | The score attained by an individual on the items on a test or other instrument.
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| Reliability | The degree to which scores obtained with an instrument are consistent measures of whatever the instrument measures.
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| Self-checklist | A list of characteristics or activities that the participants in a study reads and then checks to identify those characteristics that they possess or the activities that they have engaged in.
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| Short-answer item | A type of supply item in which the respondent is required to supply a word, phrase, number, or symbol that is necessary to complete a statement or answer the question.
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| Standard score | A derived score that expresses how far a given raw score is from the mean, in terms of standard deviation units.
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| Tally sheet | A device used by researchers to report the frequency of student behaviors, activities, or remarks.
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| Time-and-motion log | Reporting of what is observed and the time it is observed.
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| True-false item | A statement that is either true or false and the respondent must indicate which it is.
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| Unobtrusive measure | A measure obtained without subjects being aware that they are being observed or measured, or by examining inanimate objects (such as school suspension lists) that can be used in order to obtain desired information.
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| Validity | The degree to which correct inferences can be made based on results from an instrument; depends not only on the instrument itself, but also on the instrumentation process and the characteristics of the group studied.
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