This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

A behavioral domain is well-defined when it is clear to both test developers and test users which categories of performance should or should not be considered for potential test items. Only those tests that are keyed to well-defined domains meet the definition of criterion-referenced tests. The greatest proliferation of criterion-referenced tests…

The use of standardized tests and test data to detect and address differences in cognitive styles is advocated here. To this end, the paper describes the componential theory of intelligence addressed by Sternberg et. al. This theory defines the components of intelligence by function and level of generality, including: (1) metacomponents: higher…

Different models of performance assessment arise from interactions of three dimensions of assessment: the measurement versus the standards model of testing, quantitative and qualitative assumptions concerning the nature of learning, and whether learning and testing are situated or decontextualized. Addresses difficulties in implementing…

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)

Intended for teachers, this collection of articles on testing in the English language arts contains the following titles: "What Do Test Scores 'Really' Mean in Educational Policy?" by George F. Madaus; "Testing and Literacy: A Contradiction in Terms?" by Marilyn Wilson; "Throwing in the TOWL," by Mary Jane Curry; "Taking the Authority Figure Out…

During a three-year project (1977-1980) on computerized adaptive achievement testing, item characteristic curve theory (ICC) and adaptive testing strategies designed almost exclusively for ability testing were applied to achievement testing. Adaptive techniques substantially reduced test length without reducing quality, when applied to three…