Minimum Competency Standards Set by Three Divergent Groups of Raters Using Three Judgmental Procedures: Implications for Validity

The Ebel, Nedelsky, and Angoff approaches to standard setting were utilized to determine cut-off scores on the Missouri College English Test for admission to teacher education at a large university by three groups that, themselves, were at different levels with regard to the competencies being measured. Even though significantly different cut-off scores resulted with the use of the different methods, more nearly comparable standards were achieved through a modification in the expected success proportions used with the Ebel method than through employment of the Nedelsky or Angoff procedures. Further, similar standards were set by the groups combining all three methods. Implications for validity are discussed.