Reliability is a measure of consistency. It is the degree to which student results are the same when they take the same test on different occasions, when different scorers score the same item or task, and when different but equivalent tests are taken at the same time or at different times. Reliability is about making sure that different test forms…

Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…

This article describes the Scale for the Evaluation of Gifted Identification Instruments, developed for use by school decision makers. Development of the scale is reviewed in terms of five areas of assessment: validity, reliability, propriety, respondent appropriateness, and utility. Specific guidelines and cautions in using the scale are also…

This study describes the development of the Active Treatment Client Rights checklist (ATCR), which was designed to facilitate the assessment, monitoring, and implementation of readily observable client active treatment services for adults with developmental disabilities. The ATCR was found to be highly reliable, valid, and useful in enhancing…

Performance-based assessment, the umbrella term for various measures to test higher order thinking skills beyond the reach of multiple-choice tests, is the front runner in the race to provide testing alternatives. Problems concerning training, reliability, and cost remain unresolved. A sidebar summarizes testing developments in Arizona,…

Discusses the necessity for the use of test score data in measuring school effectiveness. Outlines the types of tests best suited to particular schools. (MD)

Reviews the "Quick-Score Achievement Test" (Q-SAT), an individually administered measure of school achievement for use with students aged 7-18, which has two forms and yields scores for reading, writing, arithmetic, facts, and general achievement. (SKC)

Higher elementary student scores on standardized tests do not mean educational improvement. Scores can be affected by teaching "to" the test, coaching on test taking, and skewed norms. Test scores have been declining at the secondary level. Included is a discussion of secondary tests. (MD)

This study found that the restructured National Board Dental Examination Part II is a reliable test assessing a full range of cognitive behaviors, and a unidimensional test of comprehensive general dentistry, suggesting better testing of knowledge and problem-solving skills than on the traditional examination. Performance on the pilot and…

A study investigated the relationships among nine instruments designed to measure clinical knowledge and performance in a third-year surgery clerkship. Results suggest that various types of measures are necessary for broad evaluation of clinical performance. Instruments clustered into two groups: measures of medical knowledge and clinical…

Discusses the need for a method to measure computer user abilities, and presents an instrument that identifies individuals' technical, modeling, and applications skills. An evaluation of the instrument in terms of validity and reliability is reported, and applications in user education research are suggested. (12 references) (CLB)

This manual describes development and use of the revised "Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students" (SRBCSS-R), a teacher judgment instrument appropriate for use as one measure in the identification of gifted students. Part 1 explains the judgmental and empirical procedures used to revise the items on the original…

A 1990 study of domain-referenced scores from a multiple-station clinical examination for foreign medical graduates investigated identification of essential checklist items, setting of minimum passing scores, consistency of candidate classification, and perceived appropriateness of the number of candidates classified as competent. Results and…

The performance of foreign medical school graduates on multistation standardized patient-based tests was used to determine the validity and generalizability of global ratings of their clinical competence made by expert examiners. Results suggest that these ratings can be used as an effective form of assessment in this context. (Author/MSE)

A study was commissioned to develop and validate a test to assess the attitudes of Alberta students towards the world of work. A revised instrument was created that used 75 items grouped into 15 scales, of five items each, measuring perceptions about available opportunities. During the validation field trial the instrument was administered to 467…