VALIDATING THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ASSOCIATED WITH PASSING SCORES

The validity of test-based decisions about readiness for a course or a profession depends on the appropriateness of the passing scores used to make the decisions. The interpretation of passing scores, based on judgments about items or examinees, in terms of some standard of perfo rmance depends on two assumptions: (a) that the passing score correspo nds to the specified performance standard, in the sense that examinees with scores above the passing score are likely to meet the standard a nd examinees with scores below the passing score are not likely to mee t the standard, and (b) that the specified performance standard is rea sonable given the purpose of the decision. These two assumptions can b e evaluated in terms of the match between the procedures used to set t he passing scores and the purpose of the decision, the internal consis tency of the results, and comparisons to external criteria. The source s of error in the passing score can be identified by examining these t wo assumptions.