This study elaborates the "what works?" question by exploring the effects of variability in program implementation quality on achievement. Particularly, the effects on achievement of computerized assessment of reading were investigated, analyzing data on 51,000 students in Grades 1-12 who read over 3 million books. When minimum implementation…

Logic-based measurement brings into verbal reasoning tests the inferential objectivity of numerical reasoning tests. Implications for personnel selection include performance prediction, legal defensibility of personnel selection tests, design of economical tests, and test taxonomies which sample basic inferential processes. The linkage of…

Educational item banking presents observers with a considerable paradox. The development of test items from scratch is viewed as wasteful, a luxury in times of declining resources. On the other hand, item banking has failed to become a mature technology despite large amounts of money and the efforts of talented professionals. The question of which…

Approaches proposed for educational diagnostic assessment are reviewed and identified as deficit assessment and error analysis. The development of diagnostic instruments may require a reexamination of existing psychometric models and development of alternative ones. The psychometric and content demands of diagnostic assessment all but require test…

The history of microcomputer use in education is traced, from 1950 to the present, and implications for testing applications are reviewed. Future trends in statistical analysis packages, mass storage, improved graphics, and integration of components are discussed. (BW)

Arguing that discourse coherence can provide a window on the writing processes that produce it, this paper describes developmental differences observed in children's writing and proposes a procedural model to account for those differences. The first section of the paper points out that a developmental model of the writing process should specify…

The findings of research on computers and teaching are reviewed in this monograph, both to provide useful guidelines for teachers, and to serve as a reference point for further research. Research results are organized around the following topics: (1) computer availability and use; (2) classroom applications--computer assisted instruction, computer…

An ongoing research program is examining use of technology to surmount difficulties in incorporating curriculum-based measurement in instructional programs for students with disabilities. The use of computers to assume the mechanical aspects of measurement and to help teachers translate assessment information into feasible instructional…

Computer adaptive testing systems are feasible for certification and licensure testing. This is in part due to the availability of extensive yet inexpensive computers. Modern item response theory, combined with computerized adaptive testing, yields a powerful new method of testing which provides greater accuracy and efficiency and less boredom for…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Los Angeles hosted a two-day conference on "Paths to Excellence: Testing and Technology" on July 14-15, 1983. Attended by over 100 educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, day one of the conference focused on issues in…

This book explores current theory, research, practice, and policy in the assessment of higher order thinking in mathematics, focusing on the elementary and secondary grades. Current knowledge and research on mathematics learning and testing is synthesized. Examples of innovative test items for classroom use and state assessment programs are…