DOCUMENT RESUME Buckendahl, Chad W.; Plake, Barbara S Irwin, Patrick M. Alignment of Standardized Achievement Standards: A Comparison of Publishers Perspectives. 2000-04-28 19p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education (New Orleans, LA, April 24-28, 2000). Reports Research (143) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. *Achievement Tests; Elementary Secondary Education; Norm Referenced Tests; *Standardized Tests; State Programs; *State Standards; *Teachers; Test Content; *Test Use; Testing Programs Curriculum Alignment; Test Publishers TM 031 249 .; Impara, James C.; Tests To State Content ' and Teachers' Test publishers have promoted their commercially available, norm-referenced achievement tests as viable solutions to assessment challenges faced by states. They argue that their tests are developed professionally, and, therefore, possess sound psychometric properties not often found in state-specific efforts. This study compared judgments from two sources, test publishers from two companies and teachers, on the alignment of test items from two commercially available norm-referenced achievement tests in a Midwestern state's content standards at three grade levels in reading/writing and mathematics. Teacher panels consisted of 10 teachers for each of language and mathematics panels at grade 8 and high school levels and 20 teachers for each panel for grade 4. Analyses in this study focus on the level of agreement between the state's teachers' perceptions of how well the tests aligned to the standards and the alignment reported by the two test publishers. Results indicate that there may be some inconsistency between teachers' and publishers' perceptions. (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) -.1frfhis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY