A study was conducted to ascertain whether use of an interpreter and/or a regular examiner in administering the WISC would affect test results of a group of Mexican-American children. Spanish administration of some scales of the performance test are likely to elicit optimum performance. (Author)

This article describes Minnesota Computerized Adaptive Testing Language program code for using the MicroCAT 3.5 testing software to administer several types of self-adapted tests. Code is provided for: a basic self-adapted test; a self-adapted version of an adaptive mastery test; and a restricted self-adapted test. (Author/SLD)

Author questions the widespread use of standardized tests as measures of academic potential, aptitude and ability. The Graduate Record Exam and the Admission Test for Graduate Study in Business are two examples used. (HB)

Tests of mental ability provide the most precise and efficient means of assessing a person's structure of knowledge. Tests help in cultivating cognitive competence, in developing and identifying excellence. The harmful consequences of not testing are outlined. (Author/AL)

The research from a four-year project of implied orders tailored testing is summarized. The method of implied orders testing combines the principles of ordinal measurement with the concept of the Guttman scale as an ideal. The basic principle for dichotomous items is that either an item is missed and "dominates" a person or it is answered…

Computerized adaptive tests (CATs) make it possible to estimate the ability of each student during the testing process. The computer presents items to students at the appropriate level, and students take different versions of the same test. Computerized testing increases the flexibility of test management in that: (1) tests are given on demand and…

The Presidential Address at the 1986 National Council on Measurement in Education Annual Meeting argues that measurement specialists have tended to set unrealistic aspirations for the role tests play. The conjunctive decision making model is discussed and the use of data in the conjunctive and compensatory decision making models is examined. (JAZ)

This article provides a broad overview of the definition of web-based surveys examining some of the benefits and burdens related to using the Web for data collection. It draws upon the experience of two years of data collection on 10 university campuses demonstrating that there are noticeable differences in the speed with which web-based surveys…

When items are selected during a computerized adaptive test (CAT) solely with regard to their measurement properties, it is commonly found that certain items are administered to nearly every examinee, and that a small number of the available items will account for a large proportion of the item administrations. This presents a clear security risk…

The implementation of a district-wide testing program requires careful consideration of credibility issues. These issues have been frequently overlooked or treated casually by test developers and users alike. It is well enough to study the reliability and validity issues involved when selecting instrumentation. It is also necessary to identify…

An annotated bibliography of tests for children and parents, compiled by the Technical Assistance Development System, is presented. The bibliography was developed because of the absence of generally recognized and standardized measures of performance appropriate for use in educational programs, particularly programs involving the handicapped. The…