This article describes a study, from a Canadian technical institute's upgrading mathematics course, where students played a role in developing the final closed-book exam that they sat. The study involved a process where students developed practice exams and solutions keys, students sat each other's practice exams, students evaluated classmates'…

Recently, educational researchers and practitioners have turned to value-added models to evaluate teacher performance. Although value-added estimates depend on the assessment used to measure student achievement, the importance of outcome selection has received scant attention in the literature. Using data from a large, urban school district, I…

This response to a previous article concerning the use of the CBEST considers the importance of periodic review of testing and scoring procedures, the uses and improvement of these procedures, and the search for alternatives which better suit the intended purposes. (CB)

Describes the Dutch rating system for test quality, which evaluates a test for seven criteria, and analyses the results of test ratings from the past 18 years. Results show a steady increase in test quality in the Netherlands that can be attributed to use of better tests and declining use of tests of less quality after evaluation. (SLD)

Describes the 1997 revision of the Dutch Rating System for Test Quality used by a committee of the Dutch Association of Psychologists. The rating system evaluates test quality on seven criteria using a checklist for each criterion. Comment sections provide additional information, and weighting rules establish the final grades. (SLD)

The paper discusses some problems in using achievement tests with hearing impaired students and offers some general suggestions for school testing programs. (PHR)

Finds that the time required to attempt all the test items of each question paper in a four-paper sample was inversely proportional to the percentage of students who attempted all the test items of that paper. Extrapolates results to give guidelines for determining the feasibility of newly-developed exam papers. (WRM)

Reasonable and practical solutions to two major problems confronting the developer of any test of educational achievement (what to measure and how to measure it) are proposed, defended, and defined. (Author/PN)

Reports a study of children's responses to a passage-dependent reading comprehension test. (HTH)

Finds the revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test an improvement over the original edition. (AEA)

To date, appropriate diagnostic instruments for preschool children have been insufficient to fill the demands. Since the majority of published test instruments for preschoolers address speech (verbal) development, the following discussion is limited to the problems and techniques of speech diagnosis. (PN)

Reviews the strengths and weaknesses of 5 representative standardized reading tests and 7 informal methods for testing reading. Lists 10 considerations to help in the selection, evaluation, and use of reading tests. (DMM)

As a preliminary step in customizing the Stanford Achievement Test, a study was made to compare the test items at each level with the curriculum objectives of a Florida school district, classifying them as either matching, above or below grade level, or unmatching. Results are shown in table form. (TE)

Explores the history of testing, motivations for testing, testing procedures, and the inevitable limitations of testing. Argues that writing program faculty and administrators must clarify and profess their values, decide what they want students to know and what sort of thinkers they should be, and develop tests reflecting those needs. (SR)

Described is how tests that accompany texts can be effective if items selected relate to topics stressed in class. Identified are problems commonly found in these types of tests and directions on how to improve problem questions. (KR)