The Handicap-Related Problems for Parents Inventory (HPPI) was developed for the measurement of handicap-related problems experienced by mothers of children with chronic physical conditions. An initial evaluation of its psychometric properties was completed with 119 mothers of children with physical or sensory impairments. The HPPI demonstrated…

Responses of 310 teachers in Florida to a survey about use of teacher-made tests, nationally standardized tests, and state minimum competency tests were studied. Results show that all three test types were used to some extent in eight decision categories, but none of the tests were clearly dominant. (SLD)

Uses clinical cases taken from the medical or dental literature for examination of understanding certain aspects of the dental profession. Formulates questions derived from data presented in the case or attempts to present broad principles. Includes 15 example test questions. (MVL)

Describes a microcomputer-based examination system based on multiple choice questions (MCQ) that has been used for the assessment of aptitude in chemistry. The ability of the system to generate a test based on a student's previous performance is explained, and the system design and implementation are detailed. (eight references) (Author/LRW)

Constructed and tested three inventories of teacher beliefs: Teachers' Beliefs About Parents, Teachers' Beliefs About Administrators, and Perceptions of Parental Beliefs Concerning Teachers. Inventories were completed by 462 elementary, secondary, and special education teachers. All measures seemed to possess reasonable construct validity and…

Examines ways to involve language students in the test-making process. Discusses student-generated test items, test goals, outdoor paired vocabulary testing, interactive grading, and peer testing. Argues that student learning is more important than test scores. (nine references) (MDM)

Describes the work of a team of university and public school mathematics educators to design mathematics assessment tasks that are effective for at-risk students. Perspectives are offered on the need for alternative mathematics assessment and the dangers inherent in the undertaking. Practical design considerations are discussed. (SLD)

Reports the rationale, design, validation, and uses of the "Force Concept Inventory," an instrument to assess the students' beliefs on force. Includes results and implications of two studies that compared the inventory with the "Mechanics Baseline." Includes a copy of the instrument. (MDH)

Eighth grade teachers in three local school districts helped customize two standardized norm-referenced tests for ninth graders to investigate effects of deleting some items and adding locally constructed items. Results indicate that percentile ranks for the customized tests could be very different from those for the complete test. (SLD)

Guidelines for appropriate test preparation practices are presented to ensure that tests used in high-stakes situations generate scores that represent their domains validly. These guidelines do not rely directly on two evaluative standards proposed by W. J. Popham (1991), although they share the concern for appropriate test preparation. (SLD)

New Standards Project is consortium of 17 states and 6 leading school districts working with cluster of specialists to design and implement system of performance standards, authentic assessments, and professional development aimed at improving educational equity and excellence. New matrix examinations and portfolios will yield results that can be…

The University of California's (Los Angeles) Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing survey of state assessment directors reveals that about 25 states currently study or develop performance assessments. Obstacles to statewide use of performance assessments were expressed. The new Student Assessment Exchange should…

A survey identified 352 psychological tests that are used in Australia but produced in other countries. About 89 percent have been standardized for use in Australia, but no local data have been compiled for some high-use tests. Responsibilities of test distributors and users are discussed. (SLD)

A study was conducted to assess the effect of station position in a multiple-stations performance-based examination administered to 127 senior medical students. There was no evidence for a sequence effect on student performance, with no improvement on scores awarded for standardized cases across successive cases in the examination. (SLD)

Development and validation of the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC), designed for individuals at all levels of functioning, are described. Results from samples of 140 children/youth and 161 adults with mental retardation and other disabilities indicate ASC is a comprehensive, criterion-referenced tool for both descriptive and intervention…