A general evaluation design was developed to examine the effectiveness of a computer-based, multimedia simulation test on California smog check mechanics. The simulation test operated on an Apple Macintosh IIci, with a single touchscreen color monitor controlling a videodisc player; it had three parts: introduction-tutorial-help, data, and test.…

Focusing on the competency based education movement (CBE), this chapter is one of seven sections of a report that examines the assessment of occupational competence. The chapter begins by reviewing the prominent CBE programs, their institutional objectives, and how competencies are identified and assessed. In particular, the degree to which…

A mail survey about the use of instruments in 9 assessment areas was answered by 389 school psychologists. Comparison with a similar survey 10 years earlier suggests no decline in assessment overall, although emphasis is switching away from intelligence testing, toward achievement testing, behavior rating, and adaptive measurements. (SLD)

Examined attitudes toward taking different formats of oral proficiency assessments across three languages: Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Students were administered both the tape-mediated Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) and a new Computerized Oral Proficiency Instrument (COPI). Questionnaire responses showed examinees, particularly…

This study examines performance differences between students with disabilities and students without disabilities students using differential item functioning (DIF) analyses in a high-stakes reading assessment. Results indicated that for Grade 9, many items exhibited DIF. Items that exhibited DIF were more likely to be located in the second half…

This study investigated the comparability of scores for paper and computer versions of a writing test administered to eighth grade students. Two essay prompts were given on paper to a nationally representative sample as part of the 2002 main NAEP writing assessment. The same two essay prompts were subsequently administered on computer to a second…

The present study highlights the effectiveness of Hybrid-Learning in enhancing communicative skill in English among the Trainees of Bachelor of education of School of Distance Education, Bharathiar University,Coimbatore. Hybrid learning refers to mixing of different learning methods or mixing two more methods for teaching learning process. It…

To what extent a blended learning configuration of face-to-face lectures, online on-demand video recordings of the face-to-face lectures and the offering of online quizzes with appropriate feedback has an additional positive impact on the performance of these students compared to the traditional face-to-face course approach? In a between-subjects…

Tests of English for foreign students conducted by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (England) and the Educational Testing Service were recognized as equivalent, though different in form and approach, in the 1930s. The underlying goal of the Cambridge certificate of proficiency was control of the English curriculum of…

An adaptive testing strategy is described for achievement tests covering multiple content areas. The strategy combines adaptive item selection both within and between the subtests in the multiple-subtest battery. A real-data simulation was conducted to compare the results from adaptive testing and from conventional testing, in terms of test…

This research compared the cut-off scores estimated from an empirical procedure (Contrasting group method) to those determined from a more theoretical process (Nedelsky method). A methodological and statistical framework was also provided for analysis of the data to obtain the most appropriate standard using the empirical procedure. Data were…

The Inter-American Test of General Abilities (TOGA) for bilingual children has parallel Spanish and English forms which have been used to determine language proficiency and dominance. Generally, there has been little emphasis on measuring such physical test features as size, spacing, color, and typeface. The purpose of this study was to determine…

This study investigated the effects of high and low need achievement, individual vs. group test adminstration, and potential dropout and nonpotential dropout on the Manual Dexterity Aptitude of the General Aptitude Test Battery. Following the administration of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), 120 high school males were assigned to one of…

Describes study that was designed to compare student achievement scores from three different testing methods: paper-administered testing, computer-administered testing, and computerized adaptive testing. The California Assessment Program (CAP) item banks for grades three and six which this study incorporated are described, and results are…

The challenges for secondary schools and principals in the United States include changing demographics, schools and curricula that are inappropriately designed for today's adolescents, principals trained to be managers rather than instructional leaders, and a dramatic shortage of qualified candidates willing to take on the principalship. The…