The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) assesses executive and frontal lobe function and can be administered manually or by computer. Despite the widespread application of the 2 versions, the psychometric equivalence of their scores has rarely been evaluated and only a limited set of criteria has been considered. The present experimental study (N =…

This study, framed within sociocultural theory, examines the interaction of adult ESL test-takers in two tests of oral proficiency: one in which they interacted with an examiner (the individual format) and one in which they interacted with another student (the paired format). The data for the eight pairs in this study were drawn from a larger…

The designing of tests has been a source of concern for test developers over the past decade. Various kinds of test forms have been applied. Among these are the fixed-form test, the adaptive test, and the testlet. Each of these forms has its own design. In this paper, the construction of test forms is placed within the general framework of optimal…

To study sex differences in test performance, the performance of males and females on 16 General Certificate of Education exams was analyzed in England. Results show that males perform better on objective tests than females. (Author/JJD)

The effect of test length on predictive validity is examined empirically. For four tests, the curve of validity against test length had a very gentle slope for the longer tests and all tests could be reduced by more than 60 percent without appreciable decreases in validity. (Author/BW)

Considers issues surrounding the use of differentiated examinations. Discusses how differentiation may be provided, the wording of questions, and how marks should be given. Highlights some pitfalls of using this approach. Concludes that, although differentiated examinations are possible, they will not always meet the needs of the end range of test…

The idea that validity should be considered a property of inferences, rather than of assessments, has developed slowly over the past century. In early writings about the validity of educational assessments, validity was defined as a property of an assessment. The most common definition was that an assessment was valid to the extent that it…

The proportionality model assumes that total testing time is proportional to the number of test items and the number of options per multiple choice test item. This assumption was examined, using test items having from two to five options. The model was not supported. (Author/GDC)

The usefulness of three item response theory-based methods and the Mantel Haenszel technique in evaluating the measurement equivalence of translated assessment instruments was demonstrated in a study involving 2,000 French-speaking Canadian adults who took a French test translation and 2,000 English-speaking adults who took the English original.…

This paper offers college teachers guidelines for improving their teacher made tests. It notes that teachers may focus on how well students have learned course objectives while being unaware of how the testing process itself contributes to the results obtained. The paper reports the results of a test-taking workshop designed to improve college…

Analysis of response strategies employed by 261 undergraduate chemistry students when answering multiple-choice and stem-equivalent constructed-response questions revealed no significant differences in types of solution strategies or types of errors across test format. However, analysis of student oral reports revealed a higher frequency of…

To determine whether students enrolled in one Ontario region's early French immersion (FI) programs developed English reading skills comparable to their non-FI peers, a monitoring process was begun in the first FI program year (grade 3) in which formal English instruction is given. The FI cohort and a control group matched for mental abilities and…

This paper reports a second-cycle validation study of the test of English at Matriculation (TEAM) following revisions made to the test in 1993. Candidates' scores from four academic sessions (1993-1997) were used to assess the relationship between the performance at the beginning of their degree course and their eventual academic outcome. Results…

Presented in this symposium reader are nine papers, four of which deal with the theory and impact of the Rasch model on language testing and five of which discuss final examinations in secondary schools in both general and specific terms. The papers are: "Introduction to Rasch Measurement: Some Implications for Language Testing" (J. J.…