Thirteen papers are presented that discuss issues in public personnel decision making, specifically in the area of personnel selection. After an introduction by James P. Springer, the following papers are presented: (1) "History of Employment Testing" (Matthew Hale); (2) "Job Families: A Review and Discussion of Their Implications for Personnel…

The autonomous model of literacy--including its two features autonomy of text and autonomy of skill, which have been particularly influential in reading assessment--does not account for important aspects of reading. The pragmatic model of literacy accounts more adequately for how readers respond to text. An analysis of the 1976 and 1987 versions…

A review of the literature concerned with validity data and policies for various methods of treating multiple scores is reported, as are analyses of data from the College Board Validity Study Service. The analyses evaluated the use of Scholastic Aptitude Test--Verbal alone, Scholastic Aptitude Test--Mathematical alone, and the use of both in…

Increasing numbers of state-mandated testing programs have resulted in the selection of norm-referenced tests (NRTs) for statewide assessment. Adaptation or customization of existing tests has become a viable solution for individual programs. Changes in test instruments have arisen from the behaviorist approach and mastery learning, minimum…

Test item selection techniques based on traditional item analysis methods were compared to techniques based on item response theory. The consistency of mastery classifications in criterion referenced reading tests was examined. Pretest and posttest data were available for 945 first and second grade students and for 1796 fourth to sixth grade…

The extent, causes, and importance of context effects on item parameters for one- and three-parameter latent-trait models were examined. Items were taken from the California Achievement Tests Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Concepts and Applications subtests. The reading items were administered to 1,678 fourth-grade students, and the…

Student test scores are increasingly used to judge the competence of the educational enterprise. Exaggeration of scores is the result of directing attention away from the individual student achievement to the average scores of schools, districts, and states. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (BJV)

Score linkages between the Verbal and Math sections of the SAT® I: Reasoning Test and the corresponding sections of the new version of a Spanish-language admissions test, the Prueba de Aptitud Academica® (PAA™) were investigated. A bilingual group design was employed. A language proficiency measure (ESLAT) was used to define the bilingual group…

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…

The authors introduce readers to the research documenting racial and ethnic gaps in school readiness. They describe the key tests, including the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), and several intelligence tests, and describe how they have been administered to several important national samples of…

A new test theory for performance-based assessment is proposed. Criteria for "good" performance-based items, ways of measuring cognitive complexity, methods for determining maturity levels of understanding, and scaling systems are discussed. A performance-based task completed by 51 ninth and tenth graders in June 1993 was studied.…

This book offers specific how-to advice to college faculty on every stage of the testing process, including planning the test and classifying objectives to be measured, ensuring the validity and reliability of the test, and grading in such a way as to arrive at fair grades based on relevant data. The book examines the strengths and weaknesses of…

Minimum competency cut-off scores on a statistics exam were estimated under four conditions: the Angoff judging method with item data (n=20), and without data available (n=19); and the Modified Angoff method with (n=19), and without (n=19) item data available to judges. The Angoff method required free response percentage estimates (0-100) percent,…

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the cognitive processes of Montagnais Indians under conditions that would reduce bias and allow for a contextual interpretation of the results. Fifty-eight Montagnais children were compared to French-Canadians of the same age and grade groups whose data had been collected through previous…

The purpose of the present investigation was to develop a construct validity approach for testing whether the separation of positive and negative item subscales is substantively meaningful in self-concept research. Results from three published studies using the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ) III were reanalyzed. The SDQ III measures 13…