Presented is a summary of the actions taken by American College Testing in response to calls for reform in standardized testing. The areas of reform discussed are test development, test content, skills levels, test criteria, and new testing initiatives, such as alternative-response-format questions and calculator use. (MDH)

Predictive validities of scales developed to measure children's affective and cognitive attitudes toward school were examined in relation to the academic achievement of 430 female and 450 male 11-year-old Australians. Results suggest that these scales may be useful short-form measures of children's attitudes toward school. (SLD)

Validity evidence for a new instrument, the Situation-Response Measure of Achievement Motivation for analyzing cross-situational consistency of achievement-related behavior, is presented in a study of 246 college students. Exploratory factor analysis indicates the presence of two factors, striving and apprehensiveness. (SLD)

Issues pertaining to the quality of performance assessments, including reliability and validity, are discussed. The relatively limited generalizability of performance across tasks is indicative of the care needed to evaluate performance assessments. Quality control is an empirical matter when measurement is intended to inform public policy. (SLD)

Alternatives to multiple-choice tests for teacher licensing examinations are described, and their advantages are cited. Concerns are expressed in the areas of cost and practicality, reliability, corruptibility, and validity. A suggestion for reducing costs using multiple-choice responses calibrated to constructed-response tasks is proposed. (SLD)

Development of new measures of the two dimensions underlying experiential learning theory using content domain described by D. A. Kolb is reported. Responses from 509 and 153 undergraduates and factor analysis establish the instruments' reliability and 2-dimensional structure. Preliminary evidence of validity is also provided. (SLD)

In response to concern about the French language proficiency of teachers of French as a first or second language in Canada, a test of communicative competence designed for teacher selection and evaluation was developed. The rationale for, development of, and response to the test are discussed. (MSE)

Calculating the reliability of a testlet-based test is demonstrated using data from 1,812 males and 2,216 females taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test verbal section and 3,866 examinees taking another reading test. Traditional reliabilities calculated on reading comprehension tests constructed of four testlets provided substantial overestimates.…

Discusses early feminist efforts in psychological assessment, and reviews general issues related to feminist methodology. Successful impact and lack of impact of feminist criticism are illustrated by the revisions of the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (1990), respectively. (SLD)

A project to make computerized language sample analysis available to Wisconsin public school speech-language pathologists is described. The project developed the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts computer program as a standard analysis procedure, created a reference database of language samples, and developed indices of developmental…

Two studies developed and initially validated an instrument for measuring perceptions of teaching autonomy. Teachers at all grade levels were surveyed on teaching autonomy, then 20 refined items were administered to other teachers. Results yielded two factors that were internally consistent: general teaching autonomy and curricular autonomy. (SM)

This study used judgmental and statistical procedures to evaluate the items in a statewide, 78-item, multiple-choice test of science knowledge. Differences in outcomes for these procedures are discussed. Authors conclude that both procedures should be used in test construction. (PR)

Current national efforts to expand the role of educational assessment and change the nature of assessments are discussed. Rationales for expectations that a new national examination would spur educational reform are analyzed; and the challenges of performance-based assessment, particularly in its validation, are examined. (Author/SLD)

The dominant model of teacher evaluation is inadequate. Formative evaluation should be emphasized over summative evaluation, and new approaches must use legal procedures, design content-valid instruments, develop reliable indicators, and use effective conferencing techniques. Motivation and development must become the focus of teacher evaluation.…

The manual for the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-Revised (1986) is reviewed. The test measures a child's knowledge of relational concepts. The revised version, eliminating some imperfections of the original, will continue to be a useful test of verbal concept acquisition. Cautions necessary while using the test are discussed. (SLD)