The author provides a checklist for educators who are selecting technically adequate tests for identifying and referring students for gifted education services and programs. The checklist includes questions related to how the test was normed, reliability and validity studies as well as questions related to types of scores, administration, and…

How do teachers develop their understanding of the foundation principles of assessment, stay up to date with the latest classroom approaches and have the confidence to evaluate and question the effectiveness of new methods? This professional resource for teachers supports them to understand the what, why and how of assessment. It provides key…

What is assessment literacy? It is a handful of fundamental understandings about the testing concepts and procedures that influence educational decisions. And it just might be the most cost-effective means of real school improvement. With characteristic humor and aplomb, assessment expert W. James Popham strips away the psychometrician-speak and…

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

Discusses problems encountered in using the Matarazzo Checklist to rate students' interviewing skills with psychiatric patients. (RM)

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 use of objective tests in higher education, both as an additional dimension to examinations and as part of the teaching and learning process, is considered. Specific concerns are the characteristics, functions, and limitations and the appropriate systems of organization and management of tests. The following types of objective items are…

The evaluation tools written by teachers are rarely valid or reliable. One teaching aid that can help in the creation of an effective evaluation instrument is called a test map. A test map is a systematic method to consider variables that are important in the construction of the format of a test. Five variables that are discussed in the test…

Diagnostic testing can provide specific information about student skills as a decision-making aid to teachers in prescribing instruction, identifying needs for remediation, determining effective instructional materials and methods, and ultimately, improving student learning. Diagnostic testing, as viewed here, includes individual and group…

This collection contains four papers that were presented as part of a short course delivered at the 1991 annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association. The papers discuss various aspects of the development and use of "The Competent Speaker," a public speaking assessment instrument designed for the college sophomore level. The papers and…

This text offers teachers and education majors practical, step-by-step guidance on how to create and use assessments. It can serve as the textbook for an undergraduate or first graduate course in educational assessment. This third edition focuses more clearly on classroom assessment than the previous editions. Each chapter has been revised with…

This workbook is one of six professional development manuals prepared by experienced adult assessment staff to help new adult education (AE) instructors understand how to administer and interpret standardized tests and how such standardized tests can provide one basis for instructional placement and curriculum choices. It also provides information…

This book examines approaches to the evaluation of students' critical thinking on programmatic, school-based, and classroom levels. The first chapter examines the nature of critical thinking and offers a definition as well as an appraisal of the definition. The second chapter looks at methods of gathering quality information on students' critical…

The Structure of Intellect (SOI) learning abilities test and curriculum emphasize teaching that promotes individualized learning and divergent thinking and recognize special problems in identifying underachievers, minority gifted students, and differing abilities in boys and girls. The model addresses these variations by taking the view that…

This book provides basic skills and knowledge about assessment so that teachers can expand their ability to deal with appraisal problems in their own settings. The first section deals with the basic principles of assessment. The second section concerns creating and applying assessment tools. The third section reviews issues in understanding and…