To reduce test anxiety, students were given increased information about the probable question types on end-of-unit examinations. Two experimental testing formats, a combination of the two, and the typical practice of providing no additional information were compared. Results show that additional information can reduce anxiety but not necessarily…

Offers teaching suggestions for public relations, media history, mass communications, broadcast journalism, and journalism education. (HOD)

Describes the operation of TESTS (A Test Exchange for Service Teachers of Science) which searches out, solicits, reviews, and catalogs test materials. Organization of existing nonpublished instruments is described. Implications are made for future test development in science education. (CS)

This study investigated the adequacy of the Rasch model in equating existing standardized tests with groups of examinees not widely separated in ability. With the exception of one test pair and one grade level, the Rasch model using the anchor test procedure provided a reasonably satisfactory means of equating. (Author/CTM)

Cheating by students in academic assignments, especially term papers, cheating on tests, and altering or forging a university document are discussed. Efforts of the University of Maryland to crack down on cheating and to produce a workable code of student conduct are described. (MLW)

A survey to obtain a sample of representative opinions on tests and testing in the public schools is reported. Three categories of respondents (teacher union representatives, teacher trainers, legislators) indicate that teachers' attitudes toward standardized tests should be changed. (MLW)

Describes the functional/notional approach to language instruction, discussing key features, misconceptions, and practical applications of the model. (AM)

This article discusses an experiment carried out with university English as foreign language students to test the validity of multiple choice examinations for reading comprehension. (CFM)

Outlines some recent developments in test-item analysis which are based upon a model of educational measurement developed by the Danish mathematician Georg Rasch. Illustrations of how science teachers in the United Kingdom can use the Rasch model are also included. (HM)

The benefits of using essay tests rather than objective tests in professional education programs are discussed. Essay tests offer practice in writing, creativity and formal communications. Guidelines for using and scoring a sample essay test in biology are presented. (BH)

The author presents the Important Considerations Survey (ICS), an economical means of estimating the moral reasoning power of students age 12 or over. (Author)

Examines how English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students choose a prompt from several options on a timed-writing exam. Researchers interviewed 26 students after observing them taking a writing exam. Findings indicate that students' background knowledge, question type, and topic specificity influence their decision and that time is not an…

Studies the educational position and language proficiency level of various ethnic groups in the Netherlands. The differences in these is explained by means of several background characteristics, including parents' level of education and social status. (27 references) (Author/CK)

Discusses the increasing number of legal challenges to high-stakes testing, which can potentially impact developmental education programs nationally. Analyzes challenges to the tests in four states, and suggests that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) may lead to lawsuits if a child has not received an appropriate education. (Contains 15…

Analyzes data from oral interviews with child learners of Japanese as a second language. Findings indicate that: tasks sensitive to students' understanding of critical syntactic structures and manageable for their cognitive level were effective; high-level students tried to produce more Japanese with more complexity; and phrase particle use was…