This review, with profiles of 51 available writing/language usage tests from most major test publishing companies, provides technical information on the tests, the evolution of test characteristics, the tests' role as writing samples, and issues in psychometric quality. Published objective writing tests are changing in important and positive ways.…

Research on true-false (TF), multiple-choice, and alternate-choice (AC) tests is reviewed, discussing strengths, weaknesses, and the usefulness in classroom and large-scale testing of each. Recommendations are made for improving use of AC items to overcome some of the problems associated with TF items. (SLD)

Authentic measurement has become an important topic recently in educational testing. Advocates of authentic measurement feel that objective tests, multiple-choice tests in particular, cannot meet the demands required of today's tests and should be replaced by tests that can be closely matched to instruction and can assess higher-order cognitive…