One of the areas subsumed under the data-based decision making and accountability practice identified in the National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) "Model for Integrated School Psychological Services" is to collect information on psychological and educational variables to make decisions at a number of levels of service…

Reliability is a measure of consistency. It is the degree to which student results are the same when they take the same test on different occasions, when different scorers score the same item or task, and when different but equivalent tests are taken at the same time or at different times. Reliability is about making sure that different test forms…

Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…

This paper presents a framework that institutions of higher education can use to improve, revise and introduce comprehensive systems for the collection and dissemination of information on student learning outcomes. For faculty and institutional leaders grappling with the many issues and nuances inherent in assessing student learning, the framework…

Provides guidelines for designing or evaluating tests for measuring student competencies in an accounting class. (GC)

The Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (Revised) is reviewed in regard to its application with learning-disabled (LD) adults. Strengths of the revised test are identified as are concerns about the low representation of LD adults in the normative sample and the complex interpretation process. (DB)

This paper critiques the following tests of creativity: (1) the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking; (2) the Creativity Assessment Packet; (3) subtests of the Structure of the Intellect Learning Abilities Test; (4) Thinking Creatively with Sounds and Words; (5) Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement; and (6) the Khatena-Torrance Creative…

Reviews the "Quick-Score Achievement Test" (Q-SAT), an individually administered measure of school achievement for use with students aged 7-18, which has two forms and yields scores for reading, writing, arithmetic, facts, and general achievement. (SKC)

In the United States, standardized educational tests have been used for assessment purposes in grades K through 12 almost since the inception of the testing movement in the early 1900s. Because test-based assessment can have wide-ranging positive or negative effects on K-12 students, the test user must ensure that the tests used for assessment…

This digest offers principles of performance assessment as an alternative to norm-referenced tests. The definition of performance assessment developed by the U.S. Congress's Office of Technology and Assessment is given, common features are listed, and the terms "performance" and "authentic" are defined. Suggested guidelines for…

The article addresses the usefulness of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) in assessing various levels of arithmetic performance. The mathematics subtest of the PIAT is considered in terms of purpose; mathematical abilities subsections (foundations, basic facts, applications); diagnostic testing (the error analysis matrix); and poor…

The study evaluated the utility of Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) subtests in differentiating learning-disabled children from students with other handicapping conditions, and compared K-ABC subtests with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised subtests. Results showed that subtest scores did not enhance differential…

This article summarizes Renzulli's Revolving Door Identification Model, an approach to the identification of gifted and talented students. It then investigates reasons for its popularity, addresses criticisms leveled against the model, and assesses its validity and utility for identifying and serving gifted students. (Author/JDD)

A study was conducted to investigate issues of test validation by placing them in a context. The study examined the ways in which instances of "good" and "poor" writing have been identified in the marking of part of an English writing test that is given each year to incoming Arts Faculty students at the University of Hong Kong.…

A comprehensive assessment of children with Attention Deficit Disorder should include use of teacher rating scales. Rater biases, positive and negative halo effects, practice effects, and other problems are outweighed by the ease of use, low cost, and reasonable reliability and validity of teacher rating scales. (Author/DB)