Theory of Educational Measurement

At the turn of the century standardized tests as commonly used today were unknown. The first, such school-subject test to be published or made generally available was one in arithmetic by Stone. By 1920 the first standardized tests of intelligence and of personality, a number of tests in school subjects, some aptitude tests and some general survey tests of school achievement had made their appearance. Also, the first book on educational measurement and on statistical methods as applied to education were published during this period. Some of the significant developments in the field of educational measurement during these early years will be described in the next chapter, but at this point it will suffice to say that by 1920 the use of tests and scales, including rating scales, score cards, check lists, and other measuring instruments, had become well established in the schools and colleges of the United States. In 1930, Odell cites data collected several years prior to publication (perhaps 1925-26) indicating that somewhere between thirty and forty million standardized tests were sold in the United States during one of these years. Data collected about twenty years later show that some sixty million standardized tests were being used in this country annually.