National Career Development Association (NCDA) is excited to release the re-imagined 7th edition of their influential guide to career assessment. Re-conceptualized and renamed to "A Comprehensive Guide to Career Assessment," the "Guide" contains important information career counselors, educators, and practitioners will find…

Extended time is among the most common testing accommodations given to students with a wide range of disabilities. However, although school psychologists are often involved in accommodation decisions, many are unaware of research from the past decade that has changed their understanding of extended time. Used properly, testing accommodations let…

Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when items on a test or questionnaire have different measurement properties for one group of people versus another, irrespective of group-mean differences on the construct. Methods for testing DIF require matching members of different groups on an estimate of the construct. Preferably, the estimate is…

Diagnostic assessment is currently an active research area in educational measurement. Literature related to diagnostic modeling has been in existence for several decades, but a great deal of research has been conducted within the last decade or so, especially within the last five years. The author summarizes the key components in the application…

The military offers education, training, and employment to novices to the workforce, our nations youth. The military continues to be a trailblazer with regard to testing and human resource assessment. The author maintains that no compendium on career counseling would be complete without mentioning the military. This chapter provides a condensed…

Whether it is standardized test data, student journals, or informal classroom question and answer, assessments provide invaluable, ongoing diagnostic information for making key instructional decisions. In this engaging and comprehensive resource, the authors demonstrate practical ways for embedding test preparation into teaching by integrating…

The paper presents one strategy for sequencing the task assessment of severely handicapped individuals to facilitate more precise and concise assessment. The proposed sequence includes the following steps: (1) clarifying the purpose for testing, (2) collecting background information to increase the possibility of obtaining more accurate and…

Describing the types and uses of tests may seem to be an easy task, but it is not as straightforward as it may first appear. Tests vary on many different characteristics, are used in many different ways, cross the typical assessment categories, and in some cases are so unique as to from a category unto themselves. This chapter explores many…

Psychologist Andrea diSessa coined the term "phenomenological primitives", or p-prims, to talk about nonexperts' reasoning about physical situations. P-prims are primitive in the sense that they stand without significant explanatory substructure or explanation. Examples are "Heavy objects fall faster than light objects" and "Continuing force is…

Administrators at Edina-West Secondary School in Edina (Minnesota) are making the curriculum more specific through an integrated in-service evaluation plan. (Author/MLF)

Assessment tools from the counseling arena can be useful in educational settings for developing effective instructional strategies and learning environments; identifying students who would benefit from referral to a mental health professional; and promoting student's growth and well-being by fostering self-awareness and identity development. In…

Asserts that some student products, performances, and skills are not suited to evaluation using paper-and-pencil tests. Describes three alternative methods for evaluating student achievement using rating scales, checklists, and anecdotal records. (PGD)

The author describes an evaluation of persons with suspected learning disabilities. Two types of tests are considered (mental maturity and basic language skills) and examples of each are given. Sample profiles exhibiting irregular development of aptitudes are provided and observations from informal as well as formal assessment are suggested. (CL)

The paper describes the development and use of a General Evaluation Matrix (GEM), a profile technique by which major handicaps are graphically presented along with school grades and achievements in basic skills. The approach lends itself to establishing entry level criteria for special education suited to the needs of specific communities.…

Guidelines are offered for choosing assessment materials and testing Indochinese students in listening comprehension, reading, arithmetic, and educational experience. (CL)