This article introduces practitioners and researchers to the topic of missing data in the context of differential item functioning (DIF), reviews the current literature on the issue, discusses implications of the review, and offers suggestions for future research. A total of nine studies were reviewed. All of these studies determined what effect…

Extended time is among the most common testing accommodations given to students with a wide range of disabilities. However, although school psychologists are often involved in accommodation decisions, many are unaware of research from the past decade that has changed their understanding of extended time. Used properly, testing accommodations let…

Aims: Over the past decade, genetic tests have become available for numerous heritable disorders, especially those whose inheritance follows the Mendelian model. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) represent a group of developmental disorders with a strong genetic basis. During the past few years, genetic research in ASDs has been successful in…

Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when items on a test or questionnaire have different measurement properties for one group of people versus another, irrespective of group-mean differences on the construct. Methods for testing DIF require matching members of different groups on an estimate of the construct. Preferably, the estimate is…

Diagnostic assessment is currently an active research area in educational measurement. Literature related to diagnostic modeling has been in existence for several decades, but a great deal of research has been conducted within the last decade or so, especially within the last five years. The author summarizes the key components in the application…

Following a critique of so-called educational testing, this article examines three "educationally noteworthy school testing programs"--those of Portland, Oregon; Orange County, Florida; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and one noteworthy school with no standardized testing: the Prospect School in Bennington, Vermont. Derives some broad…

There are three purposes for evaluation: evaluation for action to aid the decision making process, evaluation for understanding to further enhance enlightenment and evaluation for control to ensure compliance to standards. This article argues that the primary function of evaluation in the "Catherine Wheel" computer-based assessment (CBA)…

This paper focuses on item design considerations faced by instructional designers and evaluators when using computer videodisc delivery systems as a means of assessing learner comprehension and competencies. Media characteristics of various interactive computer/videodisc training systems are briefly discussed as well as reasons for using such…

Yearly administrations of a standardized achievement test are a part of the educational process in many school districts in the United States. The Systemwide Testing Program in the Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation has gradually developed a process and support materials whereby the test administrations are a tool…

This comprehensive evaluation of basic skills testing in California's elementary and secondary schools is divided into an executive summary and a collection of research reports. The summary evaluates current testing conducted by the state, school districts, and classroom teachers; describes experimental studies on new ways of testing and reporting…

Describes a system in which questions tailored to the examinee's capabilities are administered by computer. Enumerates possible benefits of the system, reviews the "state of the art," and predicts potential applications of computerized adaptive testing. (MCG)

General guidelines are developed to assist practitioners in devising operational computerized adaptive testing systems based on the graded response model. The effects of the following major variables were examined: item pool size; stepsize used along the trait continuum until maximum likelihood estimation could be calculated; and stopping rule…

Intended both to evaluate the California testing program's success in assessing student achievement in the basic skills and to suggest possible improvements in the program, this report includes an executive summary evaluating current testing procedures, describing experimental studies on new ways of testing and reporting testing information, and…

A survey of 97 school psychologists found that the majority felt they needed additional training in administering, scoring, and interpreting the fourth edition of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Thirty-four percent were using the fourth edition. Rank ordering of instruments of choice was: Wechsler scales, Kaufman Scale, old Stanford-Binet,…

Dyscalculia is considered to be a learning difficulty or difference. It is increasingly being recognised and "diagnosed" within adult learning. However, practitioners are often unclear about whether learners who are considered to have dyscalculia are entitled to access arrangements for examinations and assessments, and which access…