Outlines some practical procedures for assessing test quality. Tests are relevant when learning outcomes have been correctly defined, when test content is aligned with instructional objectives, and when test and instructional formats are similar. Reliable tests follow administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures and consider difficulty…

The Nonsexist Personal Attribute Inventory for Children (NPAIC) was administered along with the Piers-Harris scale to children in fifth through eighth grade. A correlation of .49 was found between the two scales. The NPAIC was found to be a reliable, valid self-concept scale for females and males. (Author/GK)

Standarized, multiple-choice tests have become the major criterion for a wide range of school decisions affecting student placement, curriculum format, and teaching style. Improved assessment will not reform education. The more insightful and powerful the assessment tool, the more damage is caused by its misuse. Includes 70 references. (MLH)

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

Assessment reforms might fail because high stakes will be attached to them too soon, judgments will be unreliable, and lawsuits will occur. Educators need to consider technical issues including score reliability, task validity, portfolio sampling, and generalizability problems. U.S. schools would improve considerably if national Advanced Placement…

This paper rates the technical aspects of 41 tests that match characteristics associated with giftedness, using criteria developed in "A Consumer's Guide to Tests in Print" (Hammill, Brown, Bryant, 1989). A summary of validity studies showing these tests' use in identifying gifted youngsters for special programs is also provided. In this sample of…

State wide, nation-wide, and international tests of students' knowledge hinder the creative talents of students by forcing homogeneity instead of variety in curriculum and teaching. (DE)

The 10 criticisms of criterion-referenced tests addressed in this paper are: the domains tested; pedagogical influence; difficulty of items; cumbersome reports; reliability; arbitrary criteria; local objectives; labeling; predictive validity; and repeated testing. (SJL)

Arguments against competency testing surface continually, and classic counter-arguments reoccur. Nevertheless, minimum competency testing and other accountability efforts have much public support. Those claiming that the tests are not relevant or do not have predictive validity, also say they are coachable and biased. Answers are given to these…

Two independent studies were conducted to investigate possible differences in General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) aptitude M resulting from the use of different test equipment (wooden vs. plastic apparatus.) As part of a ten-year longitudinal study of Vocational Development being conducted in the Department of Vocational Education at The…

Offers personal reflections on the testing of writing, concluding that teachers make wide and effective use of a variety of test types. (FL)

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

The importance of using the standard error of measurement (SEm) in determining reliability in test scores is emphasized. The SEm is compared to the hypothetical true score for standardized tests, and procedures for calculation of the SEm are explained. (JDD)

In today's political climate, standardized tests are inadequate and misleading as achievement measures. Educators should employ a variety of measures, improve standardized test content and format, and remove incentives for teaching to the test. Focusing on raising test scores distorts instruction and renders scores less credible. Includes 13…

This rejoinder to Grant Wiggins on performance assessment suggests that true educational reform will undoubtedly be evidenced by something more substantial than pocket folders bulging with student work. Labeling performance tests "authentic" does not ensure their validity, reliability, or incorruptibility. Such tests are neither replacements nor…