This study analyzed user manuals and technical supplements of 27 aptitude and achievement tests to determine whether disabled children were included in development of the tests' norms, items, reliability indices, and validity indices. Most test developers provided scant evidence that their tests were valid for use with disabled students. (JDD)

The Diet Cola Test was designed as a process assessment of science aptitude in intermediate grade students. Investigations of the instrument's reliability and validity indicated that data did not support use of the instrument for identifying individual students' aptitude. However, results suggested the test's appropriateness for evaluating…

Two pilot tests with fifth and sixth graders evaluated the Secondary School Admission Test for identifying academically talented students of elementary school age. Testing indicated that mean scores for eighth and ninth grade normative samples are recommended as cutoffs for identifying highly able fifth and sixth grade students. (Author/JDD)

The study examined the efficacy of familiarity and positive verbal reinforcement in improving intelligence test scores of 48 third-graders who were low scorers on a previous test. The Quick Test was used to screen subjects, with a 90 IQ score being the criterion for inclusion in the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The…

The key to high school student motivation is recognizing and rewarding academic effort. Compared to the United States, students in foreign countries study harder and their parents demand more of the schools because labor market success is determined by how much is learned in high school. Schools in the United States, however, reward students for…

In considering implications for teaching and learning found in research, a number of writers have urged teachers to probe students conceptions before teaching a concept. The purpose of this probing is to allow the teacher to begin instruction from the conceptual position or positions of the students. This approach carries with it the assumption…

Describes study of 315 secondary school students that investigated their reactions to computerized testing and assessed the practicability of this testing method in the classroom. Two versions of a standardized aptitude test battery used are described, one computerized and one printed, and a survey assessing students' reactions is discussed. (9…

Administers an experimental college version of the Musical Aptitude Profile (CMAP) and 2 motivation measures to 187 nonmusic majors in a music appreciation course. Eliminates CMAP results from analysis resulting from low reliability. Includes data table that were significantly related. (NL)

In April of 1982, the German Federal Armed Forces initiated the first empirical pilot project in the area of computerized adaptive testing (CAT). The configuration of hardware, psychological section, and physiological section is discussed, as well as two current problems (data transfer from the TEST 2000 microcomputer to a large sized computer for…

How accurately ability is estimated when the test model does not fit the data is considered. To address this question, this study investigated the accuracy of the maximum likelihood estimator of ability for the one-, two- and three-parameter logistic (PL) models. The models were fitted into generated item characteristic curves derived from the…

This report is designed to provide information required to evaluate the Specific Aptitude Test Battery (SATB) for Airframe-and-Powerplant Mechanic from three points of view: (1) technical adequacy of the research, (2) fairness to minorities, and (3) usefulness of the battery to Employment Service staff and employers in selecting individuals for…

The National Longitudinal surveys (NLS) of Labor Market Behavior have been conducted by the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University and supported by the Department of Labor since l966. In this paper, data from the fifth and newest NLS cohort, a national cohort of 12,686 youth who were aged 14-21 in 1979, are discussed.…

A computerized adaptive testing version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (CAT-ASVAB) is being developed to test ten areas of vocational aptitude. Development of the CAT-ASVAB is based upon the use of item banks, testing and scoring procedures, assessment of test reliability and test validity, a technical manual, and the…

Course selection of 795 gifted adolescents in a summer residential program differed along traditional gender lines in mathematics, science, and writing/literature. Girls and boys performed equally well in all types of classes; main effects in achievement and motivation were found only for type of class. The Scholastic Aptitude Test served as a…

Standardized achievement and aptitude tests may be of very limited value in making placement or instructional decisions about bilingual students. The practice of categorizing standardized test scores by ethnic groups obscures the difficulties of administering and interpreting tests taken by bilinguals. Individuals who are bilingual have two…