Use of Standardized Tests of Mathematics in New York State Secondary Schools

Abstract

Probably the question asked most frequently of the New York State Education Department's test advisory service is: “What standardized tests are the other schools using and how well satisfied are they with their results?” To obtain a cross-sectional picture of actual practice in the state with respect to the use of standardized tests of mathematics, questionnaires were sent in the fall of 1951 to the approximately 1,300 schools of secondary grade (grades 7-12) in the state. The chairman of the mathematics department or the teacher in charge of mathematics in each school was asked to indicate the standardized tests of mathematics administered in the school during the 1950-1951 school year, the reason for using the tests, and his evaluation of the tests. Such information promises to be helpful to mathematics teachers in deriving suggestions for the evaluation and improvement of their own testing programs.