Using small groups in student cooperative learning enterprises has become a major trend in American higher education (Cheng and Warren 2000). However, several practical issues involving the assessment of an individual's performance in groups have sometimes created resistance to the method from both students and parents (Kagan 1995). This article…

This study examined the effect of oral administration accommodations on test structure and student performance on the Reading test of the South Carolina High School Exit Examination (HSEE). The examination was given at Grade 10 and was untimed; hence, students were permitted as much time as they needed to answer all the questions. Three groups of…

School effectiveness cannot be assessed by comparing group performances on standardized tests. Instead, each child's progress, in accordance with his or her capabilities, should be measured. Certain assessment models can help chart individuals' progress in reading and writing. Focusing on individual results enchances collective program assessment.…

Samples of entering first-grade students were used to examine the predictive validity of the group administered Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) and the individually administered Meeting Street School Screening Test (MSSST). The advantage of the latter was found to possibly outweigh the advantage of efficiency in group administration. (Author/GK)

A group of 120 older adults participated in group testing and 64 in individual testing of mental and physical health. Testing conditions made a difference for personality, perceived health, mental health, and recall of life events. Selection or setting bias was thought to have affected outcomes. (SK)

A group's average test score is often used to evaluate different educational approaches, curricula, teachers, and schools. Studies of group test scores over time often try to measure "value-added" by holding constant certain student characteristics such as race, parents' education, or socioeconomic status; however, the important…

A unidimensional latent trait model was used to test a single-factor hypothesis of the Lawson Classroom Test of Formal Reasoning. The test failed to provide a valid measure of formal reasoning. This was a result of test format which neglected aspects of formal reasoning emphasized by Inhelder and Piaget. (Author/DWH)

Fifth-grade students (n=154) were given the Group Embedded Figures Test. Distribution characteristics and sex differences were examined. Earlier norms developed for adult samples are substantially different from those of a sample of children. The norms presented here provide a guide for identification of field dependence in children. (Author)

Two new techniques that were used with a group of seven blind, multiply handicapped young adults in a half-way house are described. Structured learning therapy is a social skills training technique and group assessment is a method of averaging psychological data on a group of clients to facilitate program planning based on client needs.…

Presents examples of how regular classroom-based assessment can be incorporated into foreign language classroom activities, without compromising teaching and learning time, through methods involving student self-assessment, improved assessment tools, small-group practice and testing, and multiple use of standard forms and materials. (CB)

Because of an increasing quality concern for higher education, additional attention is being paid to new educational principles with a more student- and competence-centred vision. Project-based education is one of the learning environments congruent with these principles. Ideally, the students in this learning environment are assessed by suitable…

A test of Holland's vocational theory across and within selected occupational groups demonstrated concurrent validity for three of the four groups investigated. Statistically significant coefficients of concordance indicated a degree of agreement among individuals in each of the occupational groups investigated. (Author)

Many researchers, wishing to generalize to large numbers, have turned away from Piaget's measurement techniques to group paper-and-pencil tests. The psychometric properties of these tests and their statistical links with other constructs are examined, along with the relationship between the observed products of mental effort and their underlying…

The study involving 30 educable mentally retarded children (8 to 12 years old) was designed to analyze the effect of the presence of others on three psychomotor measures from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Special Fitness Test. (SB)

Group exams in science courses can enhance students' achievement and encourage retention of students within the discipline. The challenge to instructors is to recognize when and how they are best used.