Since the late 1960s, curriculum and instruction have increasingly become "test driven." Research documents the negative effects of standardized testing on instruction, students, and teachers. At their best, tests reflect students' ability to take tests. Research supports the need for change in testing policies. Massive testing must be eliminated,…

A survey of 59 dental schools found most supportive of development of instructional technology but also found faculty perceived as unenthusiastic about or unrewarded for innovation. Testing and recordkeeping were the most common computer applications; individualized instruction and paper-and-pencil simulation are used in most schools. Support…

Issues concerning the selection of judges for standard setting are discussed. Determining the consistency of judges' recommendations, or their congruity with other expert recommendations, would help in selection. Enough judges must be chosen to allow estimation of recommendations by an entire population of judges. (SLD)

Training judges to generate item ratings in standard setting once the reference group has been defined is discussed. It is proposed that sensitivity to the factors that determine difficulty can be improved through training. Three criteria for determining when training is sufficient are offered. (SLD)

This paper discusses standard error of measurement (SEM), the amount of variation or spread in the measurement errors for a test, and gives information needed to interpret test scores using SEMs. SEMs at various score levels should be used in calculating score bands rather than a single SEM value. (SLD)

To investigate whether there are 2 types of test-anxious students, those with poor study skills and those with difficulties in retrieving material, study skills training or anxiety desensitization were provided to 84 high test-anxious university students in Israel. Results support the theory of two types of test-anxious students. (SLD)

Statistical methods for program evaluation with nonexperimental data are reviewed with emphasis on circumstances in which nonexperimental data are valid. Three solutions are proposed for problems of selection bias, and implications for evaluation design and data collection and analysis are discussed. (SLD)

A survey of 54 teachers of undergraduate and graduate psychological testing courses illustrates the teaching of testing in Australia. Tests covered in a course vary extensively. Intelligence testing is the most commonly taught (covered in 89 percent of the courses); most time on testing is spent in first-year postgraduate courses. (SLD)

Thirty-six testwise and 41 test-naive high school seniors in British Columbia (Canada) were tested to determine their abilities to apply selected test wiseness principles according to a proposed model of test-taking behavior. To apply the testwiseness strategy, students first needed knowledge of the content tested and test item content. (SLD)

Measurement properties of two response formats (bipolar and unipolar ratings) in personality assessment were compared using data from 135 college students taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Factorial validity and construct validity of the MBTI were supported. Reasons why the bipolar method is preferable are discussed. (SLD)

Presents a theoretical formulation that integrates, within the framework of expectation states theory, theories of the emergence of power-and-prestige orders in status-heterogeneous and homogeneous task-oriented groups. Discusses a model based on this theoretic formulation. Offers a model for predicting participation rates in open interaction…

This study explored the relationship between traditional item difficulty and cognitive complexity as measured by response time. Rural students (n=43) responded to computer-based tests of the Individualized Study by Technology General Mathematics Course developed by Alaska's Department of Education. Results indicated that mean response times were…

Video and print formats of cardiovascular motion studies were compared for use as assessment measures of interpretive skills for 392 doctors taking a cardiovascular disease certification test. Although video studies were easier to interpret, the equivalence of both motion studies supports use of the print format in national examinations. (SLD)

This guide for school administrators is written to promote careful and wise use of scores from standardized achievement tests. Authors of two sections particularly criticized in the review respond about what should be included in a primer on testing and interpreting test scores for compensatory education students. (SLD)

The concurrent validities of 3 short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) were compared for their prediction of full-scale IQ for 145 male and 159 female psychiatric inpatients. Results support previous research showing better predictive accuracy for L. C. Ward's (1990) seven-subtest short form than the others. (SLD)