This article describes the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition, an assessment designed to test preschool children in vocabulary acquisition, screen both for giftedness and mental retardation, and measure English language proficiency in individuals for whom English is not a primary language. Its administration, standardization,…

This article describes the Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Battery, an instrument designed to assess the abilities and achievements of individuals ages 4 through 90 in the areas of basic reading skills, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, oral language comprehension, and reading aptitude. Its administration, standardization, reliability,…

This article describes the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests Revised/Normative Update, an instrument designed to assess reading ability in students in grades K-12, undergraduate college students, and adults. The tests evaluate basic reading skills, reading comprehension, and reading readiness. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and…

Context: Various research studies have examined the question of whether expert or non-expert raters, faculty or students, evaluators or standardized patients, give more reliable and valid summative assessments of performance on Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Less studied has been the question of whether or not non-faculty…

Having made "continuous improvement" the theme of its accreditation process a decade ago, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is poised to make "assurance of learning" the current focus of the faculty/student exchange. In this article, the authors discuss how to use standardized assessment tests…

Although student evaluation of instruction has been shown to produce reliable results over class averages, considerable within-class variability exists that has not been investigated. This study looked at examples of student evaluations in which students diametrically differed in their evaluation of the same instructor. Patterns were noted. A…

Using large-scale surveys from nine states, the Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project (CCHIP) estimates that 8% of American children under the age of 12 years experience hunger each year. CCHIP operationalizes child hunger as multiple experiences of parent-reported food insufficiency due to constrained resources. The current study…

This article describes the Oral and Written Language Scales, an assessment of receptive and expressive language for children and young adults aged 3 to 21. The test assesses overall language skills and specific performance in oral expression, listening comprehension, and written expression. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and…

This article describes the Transition Planning Inventory, a formal assessment and planning tool for use with students with disabilities in individualized educational planning. It assesses skills in employment, daily living, leisure activities, community activities, community participation, health, self-determination, communication, and…

This article describes the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, a general assessment of personal and social sufficiency of individuals from birth through adulthood to determine areas of strength and weakness. The instrument assesses communication, daily living skills, socialization, and motor skills. Its administration, standardization, reliability,…

This article describes the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, a comprehensive measure of achievement for individuals in grades K-12. Eight subtests assess mathematics reasoning, spelling, reading comprehension, numerical operations, listening comprehension, oral expression, and written expression. Its administration, standardization,…

A study with 503 applicants to the University of Helsinki (Finland) medical school compared the predictive validity of multiple-choice science tests and a "learning-from-text" test (LFT) designed to measure deep-level text processing. Results indicated the LFT was the best predictor of student academic progress in basic science courses.…

This article reports the development, validation and use of a survey for assessing students' perceptions of their e-learning environments. The Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES) was administered to 325 students, 131 in Australia and 194 in Hong Kong. The data were analysed to examine 1) the reliability and validity of the survey, 2)…

A large-enrollment, undergraduate cellular biology lecture course is described whose primary goal is to help students acquire skill in the interpretation of experimental data. The premise is that this kind of analytical reasoning is not intuitive for most people and, in the absence of hands-on laboratory experience, will not readily develop unless…

State and federal mandates for education reform call for increased accountability and the inclusion of students with disabilities in all accountability efforts. In the rush to implement high-stakes education reforms, particularly those involving tests or assessments, the particular needs of students with severe cognitive disabilities are only now…