For the principles studied here, poor item-writing practices serve to obscure (or attentuate) differences between good and poor students. (Authors)

This article describes a device used to array the pieces of the Object Assembly Test, a subscale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children, in exact standardized order in less time than is now needed and without a screen, thus guaranteeing that the subject will have no previous experience with the pieces. (Author/BY)

When test-takers are offered a choice of essay questions, some questions may be harder than others. If the test includes a common portion taken by all test-takers, an adjustment to the scores is possible. Previously proposed adjustment procedures disregard the test-makers' efforts to create questions of equal difficulty; these procedures tend to…

The literature on item bias, i.e., the question of whether some items in tests favor one cultural group over another cultural group due to irrelevant factors, is reviewed and evaluated. All known references through 1981 are described including a large number of unpublished reports. Each method is described and the criticisms that have appeared in…

This paper discusses the use of compliance tests and evaluation tests in two experiments dealing with specific questions of acceptability in English syntax. The experiments, conducted in 1970 at the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, involved undergraduate students in their third or fourth years. The compliance tests, which are operation oriented…

An attempt to outline the simplest framework for achievement testing that shows the relationship between achievement tests and the instructional programs, and to show how achievement testing may be implemented within this framework. (Author/DEP)

Reliability and concurrent validity data for the (SCII) were developed for a sample of 180 students. Two-week test-retest reliability correlations were approximately .90. Agreement between high scores and self-reported curriculum and occupational preferences ranged from 32 percent to 60 percent. Scoring on all Occupational scales produces…

A brief, nontechnical state-of-the-art review of four common instruments and current practices in the field of scholastic aptitude testing is presented. The instruments include: the 1971 Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT), 1973 Henmon-Nelson Tests of Mental Ability (H-NTMA), 1979 Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) and the 1970 Short Form Test of…

An introductory textbook on psychological tests and measurements is presented in paper back booklet form. The style is informal and humorous, and the book is intended to appeal to the contemporary student. Ten chapters constitute the text: (1) On Measurement and Existence; (2) A Brief, Imprecise History of Psychological Testing; (3) The Creation…

Effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the Peabody Individual Achievement Test mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Items on the math and reading recognition subtests were significantly easier or harder than test placements indicated. (Author)

The construct validity of the New Standards middle school Science Reference Examination was studied focusing on evidence related to the internal and external structure of the assessment, the reliability of the assessment scores, and the generalizability of the assessment results. Data for 450 students were taken from the field test in spring 1998.…

The use of portfolios is a rather recent innovation in teaching the language arts. A characteristic of the portfolio process is that students are led to notice their own progress through the work included in the portfolio. Many educators welcome the portfolio process because they recognize that standardized tests do not tell enough about what…

Presents an evaluation of a 16+ Nuffield physics test. Lists topics covered on the test. Reviews student performance and indicates that the text discriminated at both ends of the ability range. (SK)

A comparison of normative data for the 1976 and 1978 Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) showed standard scores are comparable, except on Spelling II, but grade ratings are not comparable at the upper ends of the distributions. (Author)