Despite the 50 percent probability of a correctly guessed response, a multiple true-false examination should provide sufficient score variability for adequate discrimination without formula scoring. This scoring system directs examinees to respond to each item, with their scores based simply on the number of correct responses. (Author/CM)

A comparison of double as opposed to single multiple-choice questions yielded significant differences in regard to item difficulty, item discrimination, and internal reliability, but not concurrent validity. (Author/PN)

The School of Architecture faculty posed the methodological problem to construct a scale of 10 items or less to reliably evaluate instruction at different levels of technical and artistic instruction. Among the first 10 ordered items were: "The instructor did a good job" and "The course was worthwhile." (CM)

Describes computer program designed to diagnose student arithmetic achievement in following categories: number concepts, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Capabilities of the program are discussed, including immediate diagnosis, tailored testing, test security (unique tests generated), generative responses (nonmultiple choice),…

Nonrestricted-answer, multiple-choice test items are recommended as a way of including more facts and fewer incorrect answers in test items, and they do not cue successful guessing as restricted multiple choice items can. Examination construction, scoring, and reliability are discussed. (MSE)

Evidence of biases in the correct answers in multiple-choice test item files were found to include "all of the above" bias in which that answer was correct more than 25 percent of the time, and a bias that the longest answer was correct too frequently. Seven bias types were studied. (Author/CM)

Details the steps followed in the development of the Basic Skills Word List. (FL)

Reports construction of a questionnaire for measuring secondary students' attitudes toward learning French. Suggests that the instrument may be easily adapted to other languages. An appendix provides a list of scaled items on the questionnaire. (SJL)

Focuses on mental tests, test developers, and the social and historical context in which mental tests were developed in the United States and England. Suggests that the tests were produced in an intellectual and social climate heavily influenced by eugenicist theory and that more attention should be paid to research which casts doubts on the…

A short verbal aptitude test was administered under varying time limits with answer sheets specially designed to allow items that had been skipped to be identified. It appeared advantageous for the more able (based on grade point averages) but disadvantageous for the less able to skip items. (Author/RL)

The reliability and validity of a priori estimates of item characteristics are assessed. Results suggest that judges can make a modest contribution to estimation prior to actual administration. (Author/GK)

This heat transfer problem requires students to analyze the feasibility of moving icebergs from the Antarctic to Saudi Arabia to provide fresh water. (BB)

This problem requires the student to calculate the volume of air breathed by a bicyclist every hour in Denver, Colorado, and New York City. (BB)

Explores variables influencing the cognitive emphasis of teachers' examinations. Examination questions from Nigerian secondary school science teachers were analyzed according to Bloom's Taxonomy. The influence of the following variables on levels of questions was investigated: teachers' educational backgrounds, subjects taught, grade level taught,…

This paper discusses how certain recent technical advances might be extended to examine proficiency tests which are conceptualized as representing a variety of skills with one or more items per skill. In contrast to previous analyses, errors in the item level are included. (Author/BW)