Research demonstrates that centers sanctioned by the National Association of Secondary School Principals to assess the job-related proficiency behavior of administrators and candidates for administrative positions generate a significant amount of valuable information about them, have an acceptable level of validity, and are cost-effective. (BJV)

An expanded framework for validating tests is needed to include the perspectives of teachers and students as well as of test makers and scientists. The development of educational assessments must take place within an understanding of how tests are used in context. (SLD)

Compared adolescent cigarette smoking rates determined by traditional questionnaire, random response questionnaire, and carbon monoxide test. Results from 1,160 ninth graders in 40 classrooms in 7 schools indicated that random response questionnaire elicited statistically larger proportion of smokers than did traditional questionnaire. Neither…

A validation study of the "semi-direct" Chinese Speaking Test (CST) directly compared college students' performance on the test with their performance on the "live" language proficiency interview. CST provided scoring results largely equivalent to those of the live interview, although examinees perceived CST to be more…

Evaluates the criterion validity of a curriculum-based assessment (CBA) to identify gifted children in rural areas. Compares CBA and standardized test scores for 286 kindergarten and first grade children. Concludes that the instruments' predictive validity is equivalent, but the CBA has practical advantages for rural school districts. 25…

Discussion of testing methods that adequately measure the ability to perform manipulative tasks focuses on criterion-referenced performance tests (CRPT) to evaluate trainees. Topics discussed include predictive validity; physical fidelity; test construction; testing constraints; performance conditions; criteria for attainment standards; scoring…

Investigated development of working memory in the transitional period from infancy to preschool years. The age-related increase in scores on the Imitation Sorting Task (IST) appeared to be about one unit every six months. Results suggest that the IST has a good construct validity. (AA)

A test of pharmacists' practice knowledge, for use in professional continuing education, was developed by having practitioners prepare 673 assessment items related to specific competencies. Item pool was refined by psychometric evaluation and content validation. Two parallel tests, each containing 120 items, were pilot-tested with first-year…

This literature review discusses the match between tests and curricula, measurement validity and instructional utility when sampling student performance in general and advantages/disadvantages of sampling performance in the curriculum. It concludes that sampling from the curriculum is not essential and outlines three critical features ensuring the…

The development of the new fifth edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) is described. The factor structure of the new 16PF was explored with 4 samples ranging from 646 to 3,498 subjects. Results support the validity of the 16PF factor structure and its continuity with earlier versions. (SLD)

A four-item measure of acculturation for Hispanics was administered as part of interviews conducted with 684 first-, second-, and third-generation Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans, ages 15-24, living in urban low-income households. The four-item scale correlated highly with generation, length of time in the United States, subjective evaluation…

Home interviews conducted with 102 families of children with developmental delays assessed ecocultural family resources, values, goals, and proactive adaptive efforts. Factor analyses on the ecocultural measures revealed 12 salient factors. Some factors were unique and statistically independent of traditional home environment measures. Significant…

Reviews recent theoretical, methodological, and analytical developments in language testing, focusing on more refined models of language ability, reliability and validity, performance testing, innovative test formats, new applications of Item Response Theory and Generalizability Theory to test performance. An annotated bibliography discusses seven…

Investigated the factor structure of a battery of tasks hypothesized to measure the constructs of the planning, attention, and simultaneous-successive (PASS) process model of human cognition. Results suggest that the original PASS model provides an improper factor solution. Recommends further refinement of the PASS theory or tests. (RJM)

Provides a review of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). Presents a description of the test and analysis of its administration, scoring, and psychometric properties. Argues that the BASC is an improvement over other objective personality measures used by school psychologists. Discusses other aspects of the test. (RJM)