The Institutional Self Study Form for Postsecondary Institutions (ISSF) has been developed to help accreditation agencies provide consumer protection to college and university students. It is designed to detect and quantitatively scale the potential for abuse in institutions, and can be completed by anyone who is knowledgeable about the consumer…

A comparative study of item analysis was conducted on the basis of race to determine whether alternative test construction or processing might increase the proportion of black enlisted personnel among those passing various military technical knowledge examinations. The study used data from six specialists at four grade levels and investigated item…

This paper presents the advantages of computer generated tests over traditional tests, outlines the procedures followed in developing a test of music fundamentals, and concludes with the results of a trial of the test. The test, which was developed and programmed in BASIC at Oregon State University, covers elements of notation, intervals and…

An information processing approach was applied to the development and validation of a test battery intended for personnel selection, classification, and guidance; and design of training programs. The approach specifies that test should measure specific cognitive processes and basic abilities, rather than prior experience. Tests should be short,…

The Standard English Repetition Test (SERT) is an instrument designed to measure the Standard English (SE) performance of young Hawaii Creole English (HCE)-speaking children. HCE is colloquially referred to as "pidgin English." Details of the test's construction are given; test-retest and alternate form reliability and validity studies…

Four factors essential to determining how many items should be constructed or sampled for a set of objectives are examined: (1) importance and type of decisions to be made with the results; (2) importance and emphases assigned to the instructional and behavioral objectives; (3) number of objectives; (4) practical constraints, such as item writing…

A number of common procedures underlie speaking, writing, listening, and reading; some students acquire these through exposure while others do not. A program for the teaching of procedures will differ from many conventional programs in that it will first identify and recognize these procedures. Abstract and complex prose and issues of…

This item bank was compiled by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to help teachers at the secondary school level construct objective tests in mathematics. The multiple-choice items were written by teachers who attended ACER writing workshops. The questions are classified according to their subject content and the cognitive…

This teacher's manual describes major ways in which the accompanying Item Bank can be used--that is, for achievement tests, diagnostic tests, the introduction of new topics, stimulus for class discussions, evaluation of curriculum and teaching methods, and as models for constructing multiple-choice questions. Rationale for the use of…

A rationale is presented for the "control items" technique, the technique of using control (nonexperimental) test items to provide a baseline for estimating the effects indicated by scores on the experimental test items. For evaluating the effects of a curriculum, a test can be made of two types of items--ones that test explicit program objectives…

The effects of different choice formats on the reliability of teacher-made tests were examined for high and low achievers. The first study examined the effect of 3 and 5 choice items on the reliability of dichotomously scored teacher-made tests. The second study examined the effect of 3 and 4 choice items on the reliability of similarly designed…

A structured, time-referenced, performance examination was designed as part of the certification procedure for Emergency Medical Technicians-Ambulance in an attempt to increase objectivity and standardization. This examination is based on a model developed by the University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency…

The Sheffield (Great Britain) Occupational Functional Reading Project was organized to study the functional reading required of 16-year-old school leavers who entered employment or training for a job, and to design instruments for assessing and diagnosing occupational functional reading abilities. The primary task of the project was to develop a…

A project was conducted (1) to obtain an operational definition of vocational guidance as it is practiced in Indiana's secondary schools, (2) to establish a model vocational guidance program as defined by panels of Hoosier practitioners, and (3) to develop an objective, self-administered instrument designed to assess movement toward the model…

Instruments to measure decision-making skills of grade 5, 8, and 11 students were developed as a part of Pennsylvania's statewide assessment program. A decision-making model was formulated based upon John Dewey's five major steps of the critical thinking process: (1) identify the problem; (2) establish the facts; (3) formulate the hypothesis; (4)…