A discrete trials, operant tracking and a descending series procedure for the determination of hearing levels with three profoundly retarded young adults previously diagnosed as untestable proved quite workable and may provide for improved hearing testing with "difficult to test" individuals. (Author)

The purpose of this article is to review applications of reliability formulas and to recommend more appropriate methods of determining the reliability of affective instruments. (SK)

Traditional developmental protocols based on neurological or sensorimotor models frequently underestimate the cognitive status of physically handicapped infants. A critical review of current clinical practices in the area of infant assessment is followed by a discussion of an alternative approach, a perceptual-cognitive approach, and the…

A review of the literature regarding the utility of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) with learning disabled (LD) students was conducted. It is concluded that the WISC-R can be an adjunct to LD diagnosis and one step in educational planning for the LD student. (Author)

New as well as landmark instruments and research are described. Among the contemporary issues dealt with is a concern for the source of and methods useful in controlling bias in the construction of interest inventories. With the assessment of interests, as with all measurement, validity is the bottom line. (Author)

The effect of test content and context on the anxiety-intelligence relationship was investigated in a group-administration of an intelligence measure presumably free of anxiety-provoking cues, comprehension of cartoons and several conventional intelligence and achievement measures. Subjects were 177 boys and girls in grades 4 to 6. (MS)

Analyzes two methods of testing group differences of a latent variable: group code analysis and structured means analysis. Describes these methods in terms of conceptual representation, unique underlying assumptions, and relative merits and limitations; points toward methodological extensions beyond this two-sample case. (RJM)

Considers the situation in which content or administrative considerations limit the way in which a test can be partitioned to estimate the internal consistency reliability of the total test score. Demonstrates that a single-valued estimate of the total score reliability is possible only if an assumption is made about the comparative size of the…

Found, based on data from 28 states, that there is scant evidence to support the proposition that high-stakes tests, including high-stakes high school graduation exams, increase student achievement. Also found that adoption of high-stakes testing policies leads to increased dropout rates, decreased graduation rates, and higher rates of younger…

Discusses the problems with high-stakes testing using information from two Arizona State University studies that compared academic and vocational student scores on standardized tests. Suggests that there are many questions related to high-stakes testing that need to be answered before too much weight is given to a single test. (JOW)

Levine's equations for random groups and unequally reliable tests can be used to equate two tests through performance on an anchor test. Levine's assumption of a parallelism requirement is not necessary; it is sufficient to assume only that the tests are congeneric, an assumption implicit in linear test equating. (SLD)

Shortcomings of current testing policies have heightened interest in alternative assessment methods. Authentic assessments truly represent performance, evaluate against openly expressed standards, help students learn to evaluate themselves, and require public presentation and defense of their work. (SK)

Conceptual and technical problems associated with the use of traditional developmental assessments of young children with disabilities are reviewed. The use of principles of intervention design to guide assessment decision making is discussed. Ecobehavioral analysis and naturalistic interventions are described as promising directions for…

Presents critical analysis of a paper "Testing Reading Comprehension Skills, Part One," in which the consideration concerns the inadequacy of taxonomies of skills to describe individual readers' processes and, hence, their usefulness in test construction. (15 references) (GLR)

American testing is primarily controlled by commercial publishers and nonschool agencies that produce norm-referenced, multiple-choice instruments designed to rank students cheaply and efficiently. Such tests are not intended to support instruction. Test scores tied to tracking, grade retention, graduation requirements, and rewards and sanctions…