Thirty-five gifted elementary children were tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC-III) and results were compared to a previous administration of the WISC (Revised). Scores were significantly higher on all three WISC-R global scales and most subtest scaled scores. Correlation coefficients between the tests were…

Thirty states which administer criterion-referenced tests to students with visual impairments were surveyed to determine types of accommodations they allowed in their testing programs. The survey addressed aspects of the test setting, test scheduling, test directions, test format, answer mode, and mechanical and nonmechanical aids. (Author/JDD)

Responding to Gregory Cizek's critique of the "faddishness" of direct assessment methods, this article urges a more constructive debate about the pressing issues of costs versus benefits, the place of face validity in test design, the differing needs in assessment data reporting, and assessment methods that actually improve school…

Discusses authentic assessment of student performance as it relates to academic improvement and educational reform. Points out that there is too much testing of basic knowledge and skills out of context, and too little teaching of complex concepts. (MMU)

Explores response styles and sets capable of altering a person's responses in the thinking portion of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS). Constructs and incorporates into the PICTS validity scales to measure confusion and defensiveness. Results reveal that internal consistency, reliability, and validity of these two…

Looks at the use of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the most widely used test to assess the English language proficiency of students applying to colleges and universities in the United States or Canada. Examines the TOEFL in relation to backwash, reliability, administration, validity, and ethics. (Author/VWL)

Discusses research on the National Curriculum Key Stage Two reading tests for years 1998, 1999 and 2000. Shows that in 1999 and 2000 the reading tests were progressively easier: the number of questions requiring higher-order reading skills, particularly those of inference and deduction, decreased each year, while the number of questions requiring…

Standards-based score reports interpret test performance with reference to cut scores defining categories like "below basic," "proficient," or "master." This article first develops a conceptual framework for validity arguments supporting such interpretations, then presents three applications. Two of these serve to introduce new standard-setting…

Within the field of psychological assessment, the Wechsler scales continue to be the most widely used intelligence batteries. The concepts, methods, and procedures inherent in the design of the Wechsler scales have been so influential that they have guided most of the test development and research in the field for more than a half century. This…

Several tests available from the Educational Testing Service (Princeton, New Jersey) have been used or are candidates for use by the Tennessee State Department of Education as initial public school personnel licensure endorsement area tests. The first of the two reports contained in this document (i.e., the Executive Report) describes a study of…

These proceedings on language testing include the following papers: (1) "The Style Test," by H. Bonheim; (2) "Testing between the Cultures: A Case Study of ESP Testing in Non-idealized Situations," by R. Brunt; (3) "Graded Objectives and Tests in British Schools," by M. Buckby; (4) "The Spanish Attributive Construction SER/ESTAR + Adjective: Real…

Conference speakers reviewed and analyzed the current thinking underlying the basic concepts of test norms, reliability, and validity. Roger T. Lennon's paper called for more attention to the development of norming theory and summarized current norming practices and the establishment of a system which would permit comparable norms for tests which…

The 345 references in this bibliography include articles from the periodical literature, books, and conference proceedings, and concentrate on these topics: theoretical and practical aspects of testing, historical development of testing, instructions, manuals, and methods of administration, test descriptions and evaluation, development of adapted…

The approach characterizing this study of bias in tests of educational achievement is stated to be reflective and philosophical rather than experimental and statistical. Its concern is with operationally definable areas of learning and indicators of achievement rather than with the hypothetical latent traits that are presumed by some to influence…

The controversial and complex issues regarding the effects of educational and psychological testing on the education of minority group children in America are discussed. Although the focus is primarily on black students, the issues discussed are equally valid for all minority populations in the American public schools. The articles in the book…