TEST INFORMATION



This test was developed to enable schools to award credit

to students for knowledge equivalent to that which is learned

by students taking the course.  The test consists of two parts:

Part One requires the student to record an impromptu persuasive

speech that is approximately 4 minutes.  Speeches that are shorter

than 3 minutes or longer than 5 minutes will receive an automatic

failure.  Speeches are to be recorded on an audio cassette tape.

 The student will be given a specific topic on which to speak

and will have 10 minutes in which to prepare the speech.  Part

Two contains 84 multiple-choice questions and is untimed.  Students

must pan both parts of the test in order to receive credit.





How the Test Is Scored



Part One: A faculty member who teaches a Public Speaking course

at an accredited college or university will grade the speech

using the five dimensions listed.  Raters are trained to apply

a scoring rubric (guide) uniformly to all speeches.  You will

have 10 minutes to prepare your speech which will be judged on

the following dimensions:



Structure/Organization:                             (25  percent)

Delivery:                                           (25  percent)

Content/Supporting Material:                        (20  percent)

Effect/Persuasive:                                  (20  percent)

Language/Style:                                     (10  percent)



(Note: Weights for each dimension are noted above.)



Reasons for Automatic Failure are:

	(1) Timing (shorter than 3 minutes-longer than 5 minutes)

	(2) Editing

	(3) Topic not addressed

	(4) Failure to take a position

	(5) Took several positions



Some schools may want to score the speech themselves.  Students

should obtain information about this from the institution where

they expect to receive credit.



Part Two: Ile American Council on Education (ACE) recommends

that credit be awarded for a minimum score of 49 correct responses,

which is a standard score of 47. The minimum score is equal to

the mean score of students in the norming sample who received

a grade of C in the course.



Some schools set their own standards for awarding credit and

may require a higher score.  Students should obtain information

about this from the institution where they expect to receive credit.



CONTENT



The following topics commonly taught

in courses on this subject are covered                        Approximate

by this examination:                                             Percent



1. Ethical, Historical, and Social Considerations of Public Speaking   5%

   (free speech in a democracy and free speech issues)



2. Audience Analysis and Adaptation/Effect/Persuasive                 8%

(analyzing tile audience and preparing the speech in times

of the needs of the speaker ;and the major characteristics of

the audience, e.g., age, sex, socioeconomic traits, education,

political and ethnic attitudes, available time, etc.)



3. Topics and Purpose of Speeches                                    11%

(formulating appropriate speech topics and speech purposes)



4. Structure/Organization                                            18%

(structuring introductions, bodies, and conclusions; understanding

thought patterns and organizational strategies)



5. Content/Supporting Materials                                      15% 

(recognizing and using evidence, argument, and reasoning;

formulating logical, emotional, ethical, and credible appeals)



6. Research                                                           5%

(using reference materials and finding sources in the preparation

of a speech)



7. Language and Style                                                11%

(using language appropriate for a public speech)



8. Delivery                                                          11%

(articulation, voice, pronunciation, and body action)



9. Communication Apprehension                                         3% 

(understanding and controlling apprehension in public speaking)



10. Listening and Feedback                                             5%

(listening techniques; obstacles to avoid; giving and responding

to feedback)



11.  Criticism and Evaluation                                          8%

(criticizing and evaluating the effectiveness of a public speech)





SAMPLE SPEECH TOPIC (Part 1)



Topic: Some people believe that all states should be allowed

to pass laws requiring the death penalty for certain crimes. 

Others feel that the death penalty is wrong and should be abolished.



Try to persuade the audience of your position or point of view

on the death penalty.  Include supporting arguments to defend

your position.  Be sure to take the designated audience into consideration.



Audience: A college public speaking class composed

of female and male students ranging in age from eighteen to thirty.





SAMPLE QUESTIONS (PART II)



1. In both classical and contemporary views of public speaking,

primary attention is given to which of the following?

	(A) Style of the speech

	(B) Substance or content of the speech

	(C) Delivery of the speech

	(D) Organization of the speech



2. A speech divided into the three main divisions of animal,

vegetable, and mineral would be best organized according to which

of the following patterns?

	(A) Temporal

	(B) Cause-effect

	(C) Topical

	(D) Problem-solution



3. Speaker credibility refers most closely to which of the

following?

	(A) Persuasiveness

	(B) Effectiveness

	(C) Emotional appeal

	(D) Believability



4. In his famous "Liberty or Death" speech, Patrick

Henry said:



For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question

of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of

the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate.  It is only

in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the

great responsibility which we hold to God and our country, Should

I keep back my opinions at such time, through fear of giving

offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards

my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of

Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.



This excerpt profiles an example of Henry's attempt to do

which of the following?

	(A) Establish the truth of his proposition

	(B) Establish his credibility

	(C) Present his opponents' arguments in a bad light

	(D) Provide the audience with arguments to

		 use against the alternative views they

		 would hear from other speakers



5. The assumption that a person who is competent in one field

is also competent in another field is referred to as which of

the following?

	(A) Halo effect

	(B) Matching hypothesis

	(C) Social exchange hypothesis

	(D) Self-fulfilling prophecy



6. The predisposition to act for or against a person or position

is referred to as which of the following?

	(A) Attitude

	(B) Belief

	(C) Value

	(D) Opinion



7. Most speeches should be prepared for which of the following

audiences?

	(A) Hypothetical

	(B) General

	(C) Specific

	(D) Idealized



8.  Which of the following terms is used for the argument

that what a person hears last is remembered best and has the greatest

effect?

	(A) Primacy

	(B) Recency

	(C) Climax

	(D) Anticlimax



9. Which of the following patterns of organization would be

most suitable for speeches such as.  "the events leading

to World War II," "the development of language in the child,"

and "the major steps in learning to use a computer"?

	(A) Spatial

	(B) Chronological

	(C) Problem-solution

	(D) Cause-effect



10. The degree to which the audience members have counter arguments

ready to answer an attack on their beliefs, attitudes, and values

is referred to as which of the following?

	(A) Persuasive presumption

	(B) Inoculation

	(C) Selective exposure

	(D) Reinforcement





REFERENCE PUBLICATIONS



These are some of the books that may be helpful in preparing

for the test, although any standard text in the subject is probably

appropriate.



Bradley, Bert E. Fundamentals of Speech Communication: The Credibility

of Ideas. 6th ed.  Madison, Wisconsin: Brown & Benchmark, 1991.



DeVito, Joseph A. 7he Elements of Public Speaking. 4th ed.

New York: Harper Collins, 1990.



Gronbeck, Bruce E., and Kathleen German. Principles of Speech

Communication.  II th brief ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.



Lucas, Stephen E. 7he Art of Public Speaking. 4th ed.

New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992.



McCroskey, James.  Introduction to Rhetorical Communication. 

6th ed.  Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1992.



Nelson, Paul Edward, and Judy Cornelia Pearson. Condence in Public

Speaking.  Madison, Wisconsin:Brown & Benchmark, 1993.



Sprague, Jo, and Douglas Stuart. The Speaker's Handbook.3rd ed.

Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace College Pubs., 1992.



Verderber, Rudolph F. The Challenge of Effective Speaking. 9th ed.

Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1994.





CREDIT RECOMMENDATIONS



The Center for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials

of the American Council on Education (ACE) has reviewed and evaluated

the DANTES test development process and has made the following

recommendations:



Area or Course Equivalent:             Pubic Speaking

Level:                                  Lower level baccalaureate

Amount of Credit:                       Three (3) semester hours

Minimum Credit-awarding Score:          Standard score of 47

                                          (49 correct responses)

Source:                                 ACE Commission on Educational

                                          Credit and Credentials





TECHNICAL INFORMATION



Fifty-five colleges and universities participated in the norming

during the fall of 1988.  These schools ranged from large state

universities to small private schools.  Geographic distribution

was wide, with schools from all parts of the United States involved.



A total of 1,013 students who were completing or had recently

completed an elementary course in this subject took part in the

norming.



Raw scores were converted to standard score scale with a mean

of 50 and a standard deviation of 10 using the formula S = AX

+ B. The A and B parameters were generated from a mean ()f 52.3

and a standard deviation of I 1.0. The parameters are: A = 0.90831

and B 2.47104.





NORMING STATISTICS



Number of items                           84

Mean (Raw Score)                          52.3

Median (Raw Score)                        53.0

Standard deviation (Raw Score)            11.0

KR-20 Reliability                           .87

Standard error of measurement (Raw Score) 3.9

                            (Scaled Score) 3.6

Average Grade/Test Score Correlation, based

on a sample of 140 students at  13  institutions

(an average of within-school correlations,

weighted by the number of students tested

in each school):                            .44



Average scaled score for students whose

teachers gave them a grade of A for the

course:                                   55



Average scaled score for students whose

teachers gave them a grade of B for the

course:                                   52



Average scaled score for students whose

teachers gave them a grade of C for the

course:                                   47



This form has not been equated to previous forms.  The scaling

was based on the data shown above.  Therefore, scores should not

be compared with those from previous forms.



Colleges and universities that would like to have review copies

of tests, additional information about the national norming, or

help with local norming or score validation studies should write

to: DANTES Program, Mail Stop 20-Q, Educational Testing Service,

Princeton, New Jersey, 08541.





SCORE VERIFICATION



If you have reason to believe that your score(s) were not

accurately reported, you may request to have your answer sheet

hand scored.  There is a $10 fee for this service.  Please submit

a check or money order for $10 payable to ETS-DANTES with your

request in writing for score verification to: ETS, P.O. Box 6604,

Princeton, NJ 08541-6604. Include your full name, the test title,

the date you took the test and your Social Security Number.



We will notify you of the results of hand scoring and, if your

scores were not accurate, a corrected score report will be forwarded

to you and any school to which score reports were sent.  In the

event that an ETS error occurred, your money will be refunded.





Correct responses:I.B; 2.C; 3.D; 4.B; 5.A; 6.A;

7.C; 8.B; 9.B; 10.B.