Distance Education has globally become one of the important solutions for increasing admission into the universities, decongesting campuses and efficient utilization of time and space. To ensure the sustainability of the programmes' noble objectives calls for periodic re-evaluation of its modus operandi including the assessment of the perception…

Discusses ways testing can help students learn if the teacher can remove the aura and function of evaluation from the experience. (GB)

This review considers the treatment given by four recent educational measurement texts to these six current issues in testing: criterion v norm-referenced tests; accountability; test bias and cultural fairness; the impact of testing on student self-esteem and motivation; privacy; and errors in measurement. (SJL)

This study demonstrates that multiple matrix sampling procedures can be used to collect assessment data efficiently, unabstrusively, and reliably. (MB)

Studied the opinions of professional psychologists in Europe about tests and testing with samples of 3,455 Spanish, 2,407 English, 2,079 Dutch, 321 Slovenian, 219 Croatian, and 210 Belgian psychologists. Results show a generally positive attitude about tests and testing, coupled with an awareness that institutions need to adopt a more active role…

Describes the Dutch rating system for test quality, which evaluates a test for seven criteria, and analyses the results of test ratings from the past 18 years. Results show a steady increase in test quality in the Netherlands that can be attributed to use of better tests and declining use of tests of less quality after evaluation. (SLD)

Describes the 1997 revision of the Dutch Rating System for Test Quality used by a committee of the Dutch Association of Psychologists. The rating system evaluates test quality on seven criteria using a checklist for each criterion. Comment sections provide additional information, and weighting rules establish the final grades. (SLD)

This paper discusses the quality of tests with respect to their different uses. Standardized tests are defined as standardized procedures for eliciting responses from individuals, and these form the basis for some sort of appraisal. They can include intelligence tests, achievement tests, school readiness tests, and self concept measures. Oscar…

A suggested technique for analyzing distributions of test scores compares distributions of scores made by groups of pupils on standard tests with distributions made by other groups of students on the same tests. By identifying the percents of student scores which must be shifted to an adjacent cell (interval) to make the two distributions exactly…

A formula for converting raw test scores to refined, more meaningful scores is presented. Formula scores are easily computed. (SD)

Presents documentation suggesting sex bias can be found in educational testing and suggests that a more objective treatment of women in educational tests can be made by showing women in a wider variety of occupations and activities and by more equal representation of women in test content. (Author/DN)

Author suggests that the examiner experiences the same psychological and physical malaise evoked by anxiety that is felt by the student which may have something to do with today's student-teacher tension. (IR)

Examines teachers' major concerns about testing and offers advice about how to encourage teachers to respect the testing program. (WD)