This primer should provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the concept of test validity and will present the recent available validity evidence on the relationship between SAT® scores and important college outcomes. In addition, the content examined on the SAT will be discussed as well as the fundamental attention paid to the fairness of…

The basis of students' confidence in their answers to test items was studied with 95 undergraduates. Results support the domain-general hypothesis that predicts that confidence judgments will be related to performance on a particular test and also to confidence judgments and performance on unrelated tests. (SLD)

A general issue related to language program development involves the empirical rationalization of cut score decisions in criterion-referenced language tests. Cut score dependability focuses on the consistency of the decisions in repeated testing or the assessment of language learner performances. In this case, the issue is to determine the optimal…

This study is the National Board of Medical Examiners exploration of content-based techniques (standard-setting techniques in which pass/fail decisions are based upon the performance of examinees in relation to test content). Two content-based techniques (Angoff and Ebel) and three methods of evaluating examinee performance were studied. (MLW)

The practice of requiring students seeking admission to a graduate program at Glassboro State College to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is discussed. The paper first reviews the GRE Program: the components of the general test itself; scoring; quantitative measurements; and subject areas. Next, the use of the GRE scores and how they are…

Brief, impromptu essays written for the 1990 administration of the College Board's English Composition Test (ECT) were randomly sampled for four groups of examinees. These essays were subjected to further holistic ratings beyond those conducted for the ECT, and analytical ratings were also obtained. The holistic scores were correlated with the…

Data from the College Board Validity Study Service show that the average multiple correlation of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) with college grades peaked in 1974 and then tended to decline. Data from other sources also estimate a small average decline from 1974 to 1985. This study documented changes in the SAT and related these changes to…

Beginning in 1972, the average Scholastic Aptitude Test Verbal (SAT-V) score for men has been higher than that for women. This study created a detailed history of the content of SAT-V sections over the last two and a half decades and examined the changes of test content and trends over time in the balance of references to and representations of…

This paper examines the controversies surrounding the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and its use in college admissions policies. An early section reviews the history and development of the test. Next the essay reviews a series of challenges to the SAT: many argue that the structure of the examination is biased against women and minorities. Others…

This book for college faculty provides a resource for developing, using, and grading classroom exams. The first chapter addresses ways to determine what content should be included on an exam. The second chapter identifies testing considerations such as number of exams, difficulty level of items, and test length. Chapters 3 and 4 provide guidelines…

This publication examines research on the quality of teacher licensing examinations, explaining that state examinations do not necessarily guarantee that teachers have the breadth and depth of subject knowledge to teach all students to high standards. Researchers focused on English/language arts, mathematics, and science, analyzing actual exams…