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)…

The applicability of item characteristic curve (ICC) theory to a multiple choice test item pool used to measure achievement is described. The rationale for attempting to use ICC theory in an achievement framework is summarized, and the adequacy for adaptive testing of a classroom achievement test item pool in a college biology class is studied.…

This study investigated the feasibility of using the ordering theoretic procedure with multiple choice items, and its usefulness as an interpretive aid for intelligence test data. Data from two components of a group-administered multiple choice intelligence test (Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Tests) were analyzed using ordering theory procedure for…

This article describes the problems that the College Entrance Examination Board's Committee of Review for the Examinations in English encountered in creating a fair, objective, hour-long literature achievement test which would meet four objectives--to measure the breadth of a student's reading, his understanding of that reading, his response to…

Approaches to measuring listening comprehension that can be used in the classroom by teachers of English as a second language are presented. General abilities needed to comprehend spoken language, and stages that a second language learner may go through in developing proficiency in speech comprehension, are outlined. Techniques for measuring…

The primary purpose of this leaflet is to assist the teacher of English in building good achievement tests, with special attention to planning and construction. Subjects covered are general considerations for planning a test, making a blueprint for the test, basic characteristics of effective tests and test questions, selecting the proper test…

The cultural achievements of Italy are utilized to spur interest in the study of Italian. A weekly, multiple-choice type quiz posted on the Italian bulletin board questions curious passers-by in the areas of fine arts, literature, science, geography, history, and miscellaneous items. Sample items of this motivational device follow a description of…

Three sets of instructional materials were prepared by third graders after working with and responding to similar experimental materials in reading and social science. The curriculum begins at a point when most children are able to read, however, supplementary listening passages and other readiness training and assessment is provided for those who…

Confidence testing has been used in varying forms over the past 40 years as a method for increasing the amount of information available from objective test items. This paper traces the development of the procedure from Hevner's beginning method up to the various methods in use today and describes both the testing procedures and scoring methods…

The development of a series of parallel single-topic tests for testing attainment of 14 objectives concerned with inquiry skill in biology is discussed. The series of eight two-part tests are called "Explorations in Biology" (EIB). (CK)

Various aspects of Confidence Weighting are examined. Variant of Confidence Weighting, its effect on test reliability, and the validity of Confidence Weighting are discussed. (DG)

The multiple choice technique can test written and oral comprehension and linguistic competence at beginning and intermediate levels. Examples of test items concerning sounds, stress, vocabulary, and structures are presented, and brief comments on the items are included. (SW)

A cubic spline method for smoothing equipercentile equating relationships under the common item nonequivalent populations design is described. Statistical techniques based on bootstrap estimation are presented for choosing an equating method/degree of smoothing. Smoothing decreases the estimate of random error but results in an increase in…

Describes the practical workup of a multiple choice examination system in electrical engineering. Discusses some of the pedagogical advantages obtained by statistical handling of the data. Provides some examples of items. (TW)

Describes a study designed to determine if the amount of time allocated for answering multiple true/false type questions affects the grades of the medical students taking the tests. Students who had 2-1/4 minutes to answer each question scored significantly better than those who had 1-1/2 minutes or 3 minutes. (TW)