The purpose of this experiment was to relate two bodies of research on anxiety: test anxiety, or anxiety proneness specific to the testing situation, and trait-state anxiety. The author hypothesized that state anxiety--anxiety not tied to any particular situation but aroused in "any" situation--should be highly related to test anxiety during a…

Computer assisted tailored testing was used in a study of 163 Civil Service examinees to assess examinee's affective response to the testing setting. Response was summarized as overwhelmingly positive. (Author/JKS)

It is the process of regular exercise that promotes fitness. Concentrating too much on the product by overuse of fitness norms and comparisons between children may mask the real issue and can result in negative experiences for the children most in need of improvement. Key related issues are also raised. (MT)

Some examples of how students read test items are presented. The results of interviews with students who have taken a multiple-choice test indicate that they do not always solve problems on the test the way we think they do. (JP)

In 1967 Gough and McGurk proposed a 30 item set of geometric forms and illusions for use in cross-cultural study of cognitive functioning. An Italian survey was therefore initiated to determine the applicability of the series and its validity in specifying age related cognitive levels. The results are discussed. (Author)

Provides background information on the move toward competency testing in composition and the subsequent implications for college writing instructors. Examines problems inherent to developing a comptency based program at the college level and what composition teachers need to be aware of regarding such testing. (HTH)

The present social and political climate is marked by an increasing appreciation of human diversity and of society's need to accommodate such diversity. The social context for testing is thus fundamentally different from that in which standardized testing developed. Testing should now be more concerned with facilitating equal opportunity.…

Respondents (n=401) to a national survey of general education teachers identified specific testing adaptations seen to be either helpful for students with disabilities or easy to make. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that it was not fair to make testing adaptations only for students with disabilities, whereas one-third indicated that this was…

Develops a conceptual framework that addresses score comparability for performance assessments, adaptive tests, paper-and-pencil tests, and alternate item pools for computerized tests. Outlines testing situation aspects that might threaten score comparability and describes procedures for evaluating the degree of score comparability. Suggests ways…

The merits and hazards of minimum competency testing for the individual student or for student groups are discussed. Types of groups which lend themselves to group application and some important factors in determining the parameters of a group are discussed. Ten critical issues related to minimum competency testing are identified: (1) scope of…

Following a critique of so-called educational testing, this article examines three "educationally noteworthy school testing programs"--those of Portland, Oregon; Orange County, Florida; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and one noteworthy school with no standardized testing: the Prospect School in Bennington, Vermont. Derives some broad…

Three papers are included in this document. The first, "An Introduction to the Problem of Test User Qualifications," by Kevin L. Moreland, is a short history of the American Psychological Association (APA)/American Educational Research Association (AERA)/National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) Working Group on Test User…

The purpose of this essay is to describe the principles of educational measurement proposed by B. Wood during the 1920s in his dissertation, written under the direction of E. L. Thorndike, and later published as "Measurement in Higher Education" (1923). These principles were selected because they illustrate one of the earliest and most complete…

THE PAPER REPORTS ON AN ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE EMPIRICALLY, FOR SEVERAL TEST-CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS, THE AMOUNT OF IMPROVEMENT RESULTING WHEN TESTS ARE TAILORMADE TO FIT ONE PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTIC OF A LOCAL POPULATION--THE BASE RATES OF THE TWO CRITERION GROUPS WHICH THE TEST IS DESIGNED TO SEPARATE. THE BASIC PROCEDURE USED WAS TO CONSTRUCT A…