Describes a dozen ways in which reading tests are at variance in their demands with the demands of reading as it occurs in everyday life. Suggests that these sources of variance render reading tests considerably less valid as measures of real world reading behavior than most people want to believe. (RS)

The structural and external validity of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and the relations among TPQ lower-order and higher-order scales and those of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire were examined. Results for 1,236 adults support the TPQ's validity but indicate its failure to operationalize portions of the…

Developed a scale for detecting random responses on the Multidimensional Pain Inventory using 95 undergraduates, 34 chronic pain patients, and 115 health-care professionals. A variable response scale was developed that discriminated accurately between valid and random profiles in two cross-validation samples, predicting random profiles with 90%…

In this article, the author explains the key differences among three kinds of instructionally relevant tests that can have a huge impact on what goes on in classrooms: "instructionally insensitive tests," "instructionally sensitive tests," and "instructionally informative tests." If educators understand the advantages and limitations of these…

Testing and assessment that are "more authentic" (performance-based or alternative) represent the most pressing issue in education today. Some of the major criticisms leveled at standardized testing are examined, and the advantages and disadvantages of more authentic assessment are reviewed. A general direction for integrating traditional and…

Alverno College (Wisconsin) defines a curriculum in which all students demonstrate certain major abilities within their disciplines or professional areas, and it assesses those abilities as its primary graduation requirements. The college-wide assessment center has enabled assessment of complex abilities not easily tested through a single course.…

To assist administrators, teachers, and other school personnel in understanding and implementing the various components of the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) program, this manual details the ISTEP program, a broad-based achievement testing plan providing Indiana schools with a means of assessing their overall…

The testing of many American Indian children using standardized exams (achievement, aptitude, ability, and intelligence tests) developed for the majority American society represents a case of cross-cultural testing which is likely to produce invalid results in the form of underestimation of student performance. Requirements for obtaining accurate…

A project was conducted to develop a model for evaluating placement testing in the North Carolina System of Community Colleges. Researchers at Central Piedmont Community College conducted a longitudinal study of students' progress through the college curriculum as it related to placement test scores. The following numbers of students comprised the…

To explain the discrepancy between median scores on the 1976 administration of the California Achievement Tests (CAT) and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP) in the Austin Independent School District (AISD), ten technical variables typical of achievement tests were considered as explanations. (1) The STEP may measure different…

The relative validity of adaptive and conventional testing strategies using non-test variables as one set of external criteria was investigated. A total of 101 college students completed both a variable length stradaptive test and peaked conventional test; a second group of 131 college students completed a variable length Bayesian adaptive test…

This paper discusses the relationship between language proficiency and intelligence. In particular, the paper is concerned with the elements of intelligence testing which creep into tests designed to determine language proficiency, and the proliferation of testing of all types and the kinds of interpretations made of these tests. Particular…

This paper discusses some of the problems involved in the testing of minority group children, focusing on the testing of bilingual minorities and emphasizing the special problems involved in testing Hispanic children. Considered are a variety of ways in which tests have been misused and misinterpreted in working with these children. It is…

The military utilizes tests extensively and should be aware of current testing problems. A conference composed of members from the business, educational, and military communities, both foreign and domestic, was held and these major issues addressed: (1) The Development of Training Requirements; (2) Personnel Assignment Using Interest Inventories;…

The volume of test-norms and expectancy tables is intended as a tool for counselors in counseling individuals. The work contains a chapter on test interpretation to assist the counselor in relating individual test scores to other information about the individual. In the Minnesota Norms section of the tables, there are no data at the elementary…