Various aspects of Confidence Weighting are examined. Variant of Confidence Weighting, its effect on test reliability, and the validity of Confidence Weighting are discussed. (DG)

"Options in Education" is a radio news program which focuses on issues and developments in education. This transcript contains discussions of volunteer parent tutors in a junior high school, the feminization of the teaching profession, the test score controversy, busing as an issue in the political primaries, and busing and the role of…

It would be beneficial for ESL instructors to know the U.S. grade equivalent English ability of their students for placement purposes, especially if their instructional materials are keyed for U.S. classrooms. For this purpose, the Stanford Intermediate Level I Reading Comprehension Test was compared with the CELT-Structure Test. (Author/RM)

Performance of 100 college freshmen on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Part II, Tests of Achievement, were analyzed by subtests and cluster scores to determine appropriateness for assessing achievement of handicapped students. Minor inversions in item order and pronounced ceiling effects on all subtests yielded lowered subtest and…

Scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) were compared with reevaluation scores obtained four years later on the WAIS-Revised for a group of 108 mildly and moderately retarded adults. The moderately retarded subgroups (N=22) demonstrated significantly higher WAIS-R intelligence quotients. Implications for use of the WAIS-R are…

Using a new method, 48 children in an elementary school in Rome, Italy, were taught a foreign language (26 English, 22 German) and tested after three years. The authors attempt to explain the variation in test results in terms of the students' attention, memory, and phonetic discrimination. (CFM)

Compares the results of two survey designs administered to visitors of three South African nature reserves to ascertain changes in conservation awareness. Explains the method, data collection, questionnaire design, statistical tests, pretests, pilot studies, results, and conclusions of the study. Finds that no statistical differences between…

This paper discusses several commonly used maximum performance tests of speech production, including phonation volume, maximum phonation duration, maximum fricative duration, fundamental frequency range, maximum expiratory pressure, maximum closing force, and maximum repetition rate. The published normative data, adequacy of these data for…

Presents major stages in design and development of criterion referenced tests (CRT) with emphasis on differences between CRT construction and norm-referenced test construction. Discussion covers test interpretation; test theory; preparation for test construction (hierarchical analysis, item type selection, and choosing number of items); test…

Reviews a secondary school version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) that focuses on two of the primary language skills: listening and reading. Subtest includes a variety of tasks measuring semantic, syntactic, and higher-level reading comprehension abilities. (NKA)

A sample (N=37) of currently published achievement tests was surveyed as to the availability of five types of technical data: (1) item selection techniques; (2) standardization; (3) types of norms; (4) types of validating data; and (5) types of reliability data. Recommendations for publishers and cautions for test users are given. (BS)

This paper describes several tools that the regular and special education teacher can use to ensure that modifications for students with hearing impairments in the regular classroom are both available and of sufficient quality. First, the Mainstream Success Index, an aid to interpreting test scores for the purpose of making educational decisions,…

This manual documents the technical aspects of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). In May 1999, Massachusetts public school students in grades 4, 8, and 10 participated in the second annual administration of the MCAS tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science & Technology. This report provides information…

The SAT® I: Reasoning Test is administered seven times a year. Primarily for security purposes, several different test forms are given at each administration. How is it possible to compare scores obtained from different test forms and from different test administrations? The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the statistical…

Discusses changes in testing as a result of the availability of extensive inexpensive computing and some recent developments in statistical test theory. Describes the role of the Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) and modern Item Response Theory (IRT) in ability testing tailored to each student's knowledge and ability. (JAC)