34 C.F.R. § 668.144 Application for test approval.
Title 34 - Education
Except as provided in §668.143— (a) The Secretary only reviews tests under this subpart that are submitted by the publisher of that test; (b) A test publisher that wishes to have its test approved by the Secretary under this subpart must submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe. The application shall contain all the information necessary for the Secretary to approve the test under this subpart, including but not limited to, the information contained in this section; and (c) A test publisher shall include with its application— (1) A summary of the precise editions, forms, levels, and (if applicable) sub-tests and abbreviated tests for which approval is being sought; (2) The name, address, and telephone number of a contact person to whom the Secretary may address inquiries; (3) Each edition and form of the test for which the publisher requests approval; (4) The distribution of test scores for each edition, form, level, sub-test, or partial battery, for which approval is sought, that allows the Secretary to prescribe the passing score for each test in accordance with §668.147; (5) Documentation of test development, including a history of the test's use; (6) Norming data and other evidence used in determining the distribution of test scores; (7) Material that defines the content domains addressed by the test; (8) For tests first published five years or more before the date submitted to the Secretary for review and approval, documentation of periodic reviews of the content and specifications of the test to ensure that the test continues to reflect secondary school level verbal and quantitative skills; (9) If a test has been revised from the most recent edition approved by the Secretary, an analysis of the revisions, including the reasons for the revisions, the implications of the revisions for the comparability of scores on the current test to scores on the previous test, and data from validity studies of the test undertaken subsequent to the revisions; (10) A description of the manner in which test-taking time was determined in relation to the content representativeness requirements in §668.146(b)(2), and an analysis of the effects of time on performance; (11) A technical manual that includes— (i) An explanation of the methodology and procedures for measuring the reliability of the test; (ii) Evidence that different forms of the test, including, if applicable, short forms, are comparable in reliability; (iii) Other evidence demonstrating that the test permits consistent assessment of individual skill and ability; (iv) Evidence that the test was normed using— (A) Groups that were of sufficient size to produce defensible standard errors of the mean and were not disproportionately composed of any race or gender; and (B) A contemporary population representative of persons who are beyond the usual age of compulsory school attendance in the United States; (v) Documentation of the level of difficulty of the test; (vi) Unambiguous scales and scale values so that standard errors of measurement can be used to determine statistically significant differences in performance; and (vii) Additional guidance on the interpretation of scores resulting from any modifications of the tests for persons with documented disabilities. (12) The manual provided to test administrators containing procedures and instructions for test security and administration, and the forwarding of tests to the test publisher; (13) An analysis of the item-content of each edition, form, level, and (if applicable) sub-test to demonstrate compliance with the required secondary school level criterion specified in §668.146(b); (14) For performance-based tests or tests containing performance-based sections, a description of the training or certification required of test administrators and scorers by the test publisher; (15) A description of retesting procedures and the analysis upon which the criteria for retesting are based; and (16) Other evidence establishing the test's compliance with the criteria for approval of tests as provided in §668.146. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) [60 FR 61839, Dec. 1, 1995, as amended at 61 FR 31035, June 19, 1996]
Title 34: Education
PART 668—STUDENT ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS
Subpart J—Approval of Independently Administered Tests; Specification of Passing Score; Approval of State Process
§ 668.144 Application for test approval.
