New developments in the use of automatically scorable constructed response item types for large-scale assessment are reviewed for five domains: (1) mathematical reasoning; (2) algebra problem solving; (3) computer science; (4) architecture; and (5) natural language. Ways in which these technologies are likely to shape testing are considered. (SLD)

Scoring guidelines are given for four forms of the practical skills tests of the Second International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Improvement Science Study conducted in the following countries in the 1980s: (1) Hungary; (2) Japan; (3) Korea; (4) Singapore; (5) Israel; and (6) the United States. (SLD)

Describes the author's 10 years of experiences with the Student Exam Review Committee (SERC) that he formulated in response to intrinsic difficulties with examinations generated for large sections of college science courses. Discusses the selection of committee members, preexam input by the whole class, the committee's exam review process, and…

This article briefly reviews findings from more than 250 research studies on instructional leadership and productive schools and discusses development and field testing of a needs assessment instrument for assessment of the continuing education needs of principals. (IAH)

Reports on a study of 96 undergraduate developmental psychology students and their performance on student-developed "pop quizzes." Students who participated in writing test items had significantly higher scores than students who did not. Calls for more research into the effectiveness of other student-developed evaluation methods. (CFR)

Discusses a new observational measure for classroom practices, the Classroom Practices Inventory, which is based on the Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practices of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. This scale demonstrated internal consistency in tapping the curricular emphasis of emotional climate of…

Content areas that should be included in testing and measurement courses, subsidiary skills, and means of rationalizing the content and skills are outlined. Areas include basic concepts, assessment uses, assessment planning and development, interpretation of assessments, description of results, evaluation and improvement of assessments, feedback…

Describes the development of the North Carolina State University Volleyball Skills Test Battery which offers accurate measurement of three volleyball skills (serve, forearm pass, and set). When physical educators tested 313 students, the battery objectively measured their abilities, providing a gamelike means of teaching, testing, grouping, and…

The scales of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), as constructed, do not yield meaningful criterion-referenced interpretations. Poorly defined NAEP goals and the present knowledge base do not allow the measurement of what examinees can and cannot do. Inappropriate interpretations of NAEP data are discussed, with specific…

A survey for rating characteristics/skills of effective consultant behavior was developed and sent to and received from 177 school psychological/consultation experts and 307 school psychology practitioners nationwide. Four factors--consultation process skills, expert skills, personal characteristics, and interpersonal skills--were shared across…

Three studies of construction and validity of a learner typology and an instructor typology based on the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory were conducted, using 851 male and 543 female community college students and 117 male and 120 female community college faculty members. The results provide support for both typologies. (SLD)

The development and testing of a measure of pharmacy student performance in the clinical setting is described. Participating faculty refined an instrument for its ability to measure eight behavioral objectives of patient presentation. Items were of Likert or dichotomous format and measured problem-solving and communication skills. (Author/MSE)

Extensions of the confirmatory factor analysis approach to multitrait-multimethod data are demonstrated, and self-other agreement on multiple dimensions of self-concept are evaluated in 2 studies investigating the ability of significant others to infer multiple dimensions of self-concept for 151 Australian and 941 Canadian college students. (SLD)

Figural response (FR) items in architecture were compared with multiple-choice (MC) counterparts for their ability to predict architectural problem-solving proficiency of 33 practicing architects, 34 architecture interns, and 53 architecture students. Although both FR and MC predicted verbal design problem solving, only FR scores predicted…

Using responses of 123 elementary school teachers, a battery of performance-assessment tasks designed to generate responses to reading tests was evaluated from task development and scoring perspectives. More than one dozen types of errors were identified. Practical outcomes of the study and improvement of task development and scoring are…