Reviews the literature on computer use in second language and foreign language learning from 1990 to 2000 inclusive under the categories of potentials of computer technology use in specific areas; software for language skills; software design considerations; computerized language testing; and research findings from studies using quantitative…

Introduces this issue of "The Counseling Psychologist," which considers several contemporary developments and issues in the areas of testing and assessment and their relevance for counseling psychologists. Topics examined by the papers are identified, along with five additional current issues in testing and assessment. (Author/TE)

Some software packages currently available for item writing and item banking are reviewed. Eleven test-generation and three item-banking packages are listed. Users trained in item response theory can find a great deal of power in a desk-top system. (SLD)

Description of the development of a theoretically based instrument--the Computer Aversion Scale (CAVS)--to measure negative reactions to computers, focuses on the use of microcomputers in the mental health field. Previous efforts to assess computer anxiety are reviewed, and studies testing the reliability and validity of the CAVS are described.…

This article reviews the content and procedural requirements of social competence assessment for children with disabilities and presents information on multiperspective prototype assessments using a videodisc and a microcomputer with a "touch screen." Preliminary psychometric data on sensitivity, reliability, and construct validity are…

Considers how the development of a computer-based microconcordance program could be used to produce cloze tests that do more than present a mutilated text derived from a single source, with an example within the context of advanced learners of English-as-a-Second-Language. (CB)

This paper reports on existing studies and uses meta analysis to compare and synthesize the results of 20 studies from 8 research reports comparing the ability measure equivalence of computer adaptive tests (CAT) and conventional paper and pencil tests. Using the research synthesis techniques developed by Hedges and Olkin (1985), it is possible to…

The advent of computers in educational and psychological measurement has lead to the need for algorithms for optimal assembly of tests from item banks. This paper reviews the literature on optimal test assembly and introduces the contributions to this report on the topic. Four different approaches to computerized test assembly are discussed:…

Increasing social awareness of the need for accurate and fair testing has combined with technological developments to produce dramatic advances in psychometric models, methods, and procedures. Three of the most important new directions within the measurement field concern the following areas: (1) item response theory; (2) item bias or differential…

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…

There are economic advantages in using microcomputers as automated testing stations for measuring aptitude and intelligence. Microcomputers also make it possible to expand and modify testing procedures for psychological functions included in conventional tests and to test psychological functions not generally assessed by conventional tests, such…

With pressure to find more cost effective and less labor-intensive approaches to testing, states are seeing computer-based testing as a way to address the increasingly challenging prospect of assessing all students in a state at nearly all grades. Unfortunately, most states have not specifically considered the needs of students with disabilities.…

How computers are used to analyze item data is reviewed, and the information that existing item-analysis programs provide is described. Summaries of studies comparing the performance of some of these packages reveal some of their current limitations. Emphasis is on the usefulness to educational practice of these packages. (SLD)

A literature review was conducted to determine the current state of knowledge concerning the effects of computer administration of standardized educational and psychological tests on the psychometric properties of these instruments. Students were grouped according to a number of factors relevant to the administration of tests by computer. Based on…

This article explores the relationship between the inclusion movement and the development of national standards for "all students," and outlines their implications for technology-assisted improvements in assessment of students with disabilities. Testing accommodations, such as input/output adaptations, can be facilitated with technology, and new…