Purpose: To provide educationalists with an understanding of the key quality issues relating to multiple-choice tests, and a set of guidelines for the quality assurance of such tests. Design/methodology/approach: The discussion of quality issues is structured to reflect the order in which those issues naturally arise. It covers the design of…

DICOT, a computer program for the Rasch analysis of classroom tests, is described. Results are presented in a self-explanatory form. Person ability and item difficulty estimates are expressed in a familiar metric. Person and item fit statistics provide a diagnosis of individual children and identification of problematic items. (Author/DWH)

An achievement test for the secondary school vocational electricity programs in South Carolina was constructed by a research coordinating unit (RCU) project. A trade and industrial supervisor and consultant, three electricity instructors, and four industry representatives comprised an advisory committee that participated in its development. Three…

Education standards are left to the discretion of individual states. However, efforts to help states and local school districts define world-class standards are intensifying. The U.S. Department of Education, the National Education Goals Panel, and New Standards, a partnership of 17 states and 6 school districts, are among those involved. (MLF)

Discusses the pros and cons of using computer software to prepare for college entrance examinations. Provides information on eight programs designed for that purpose. (TW)

Describes development of qualifying examinations in English and Welsh secondary schools. Evaluates forms and quality of testing in history. Presents suggestions by experts and changes made in England and Wales over 21-year period. Finds that most problems stemmed from desires to cover long periods of time while providing the depth of coverage…

Describes the development of a history assessment test by Northeast Missouri State University (Kirksville) faculty. Discusses content, problems with design and cooperation, and theories of assessment testing. Includes sample questions demonstrating the cube plan, a technique that involves using a single question to measure three learning…

To facilitate the proper technical use of the test scores obtained from the administration of the tests, the curricular and psychometric characteristics of the tests are described in a series of technical manuals. This manual, the seventh in the series, contains a description of the characteristics of the North Carolina Test of Chemistry. The test…

Examines some of the problems in interpreting data from attitude measures when the dimensionality of the instrument and sources of heterogeneity in the population are ignored. Illustrates this point by describing the development of an instrument designed to measure children's attitude toward science-related activities. (TW)

Describes a study designed to determine if the amount of time allocated for answering multiple true/false type questions affects the grades of the medical students taking the tests. Students who had 2-1/4 minutes to answer each question scored significantly better than those who had 1-1/2 minutes or 3 minutes. (TW)

Analyzes an old chemistry examination that was given to a college chemistry class in 1984. Contrasts several of the examination's features against most modern ones. Notes the emphasis on observable properties and the practical applications of substances. Argues that the newer examinations may stress too much theory and don't stress communication…