The Test Analysis Package (TAP) consists of three microcomputer programs that edit, score, summarize, and analyze student test data. Features of the TAP system include: (1) an editor that allows creation of a student test data file without the use of a separate word processor; (2) a scoring mechanism that can score a test data file of 999 students…

Prior to 1979, DeKalb Community College (DCC) developed placement levels from Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores as criteria for admissions to degree-granting programs. When this procedure proved inadequate for degree admissions and student placement, DCC began generating placement levels on the basis of the Reading, English, and Mathematics…

The structure of this report is as follows: First, specific aptitude theory and general ability theory, the two theories of the relation between ability and job performance, are presented and differentiated. Second, there is a discussion of problems in the current use of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) and of problems in the use of…

A pilot project determined whether a proposed essay addition to the new General Educational Development (GED) test batteries, scheduled for release in 1988, could be successfully administered and scored in local test centers with an acceptable degree of test reliability and validity. Conducted in cooperation with the GED Testing Service, the…

To determine how much prior knowledge affects students' performance on a reading comprehension test, a study was undertaken to examine the prior knowledge factor in a reading competency test developed for college freshmen in New Jersey. The passages used in this test are based on common, everyday topics. Subjects were students in two sections of a…

An analysis is presented by the Puerto Rico office of the College Board of the English as a Second Language Achievement Test (ESLAT), which was undertaken to measure the specifications and item content of the examination against the students' performance. The report, based on 400 randomly selected structure items used in one or more versions of…

The implicit definition of competence and the inferential chain that links the standard-setting process to the decision outcomes of the method are considered for two classes of standard-setting procedures: those involving data-free judgments of items and those involving data-based judgment of items. The major underlying assumptions of competence…

This booklet is intended to help school personnel, parents, students, and members of the community understand concepts and research relating to achievement testing in public schools. The paper's sections include: (1) test use with direct effects on students (test of certification, selection, and placement); (2) test use with indirect effects on…

Problems in validating ability tests for handicapped students and research approaches to predictive validity are discussed. Validity for handicapped persons tested under regular conditions; for applicants to special programs, and for tests taken under special administrative conditions are considered. Item analysis and the construction of new…

A new self-report measure of impulsivity was developed to provide group administration and economy of scoring. An initial set of 26 items was constructed to tap various aspects of impulsivity, or the tendency to respond quickly without thinking. The items were administered to 346 male undergraduate students, primarily freshmen and sophomores. Item…

The author responding to criticism of an earlier article attempts to clarify his previous remarks on the reliability and validity of measures of body image in mentally handicapped persons. (LC)

The purpose of this paper is to give an account of the history of the Canadian Service for Admission to College and University (SACU) and to discuss its services, its present crisis, and its possible reorientation, bearing in mind the fact that West Germany is about to establish a similar admissions service. (Author/RK)