A test score can be used for individual instructional diagnosis after determining whether: (1) difficulty of the test items was consistent with the complexity of the content measured; (2) items measuring the same underlying process were about equally difficult; and (3) partial credit scoring would increase the reliability of the diagnosis. (LMO)

Presents a validation procedure for the Computer Literacy Examination: Cognitive Aspect, a test assessing high school students' computer literacy levels. Steps in the test's construction process are explained, data collected during its validation phase are analyzed, and conclusions on its validity and reliability are discussed. The final test…

The stability was evaluated of a partial correlation index, comparisons of item characteristic curves, and comparisions of item difficulties in assessing race and sex differences in the performance of verbal items on the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test. All three indexes exhibited consistency in identifying the same items in different…

Investigates how 104 tenth graders' fluent use of a basic numerical skill is related to their perceptions of confidence on a task of quantitative estimation. Results showed that counting skill was related not only to accuracy in estimating but also to the appropriateness of subjects' confidence. (Author/CI)

The editor of "Heinemann's Science and Technology Readers" responds to questions concerning the objectives and design of the series. The market for technical readers; reader format and difficulty level; illustrations, technical exercises, and the language teacher; and the intended classroom use are discussed. (MSE)

An information-processing model was tested for a laboratory visualization task that represents one adaptation of a standardized spatial ability test. The pattern of results suggests that individual differences are a function of differences in the accuracy and/or quality of the mental representation, not just speed of processing. (Author/BW)

Reviewed the anxiety literature relating to university students, including: (a) a historical prospective of research; (b) the effects of anxiety level on learning; (c) associations among anxiety and learning performance and intellectual ability, sex difference, task difficulty, and situational variables; and (d) treatment. (JAC)

Describes two experiments which were conducted to investigate the responses of eight-year-old children to differently worded spoken instructions for simple tasks, for which sentence length and complexity were systematically varied. Results indicate that children's accuracy improved with shorter and slower instructions. (Author/DB)

Today, mathematics education faces two major challenges: raising the floor by expanding achievement for all, and lifting the ceiling of achievement to better prepare future leaders in mathematics, as well as in science, engineering, and technology. Many students lack access to higher-level mathematics courses and teaching at all levels of…

It has been found repeatedly that when test takers are allowed to choose a subset of constructed response (CR) items to answer on a test, they tend to choose differently and often perform lower on more popularly chosen items. This study investigated the psychological factors that influence test takers choices. Using an experience that incorporated…

High school graduation exams are in place in nearly half the states, and more than half the nation's high school students have to pass them to earn a diploma. After a detailed analysis of the mathematics and English language arts exams in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas, Achieve reached three conclusions: (1) Tests are…

Issues and patterns in second language learning are discussed, drawing on a 1985 study with learners of English as a second language in Australia. Discussion begins with an analysis of the process of learning one form of verb marking, the ending "-ing." The inherent complexity of this form in English is examined, and ways in which…

This study investigates the major difficulties experienced and perceived by students of Chinese as an additional language (CAL), as well as the coping strategies they employed. It is a qualitative, 8-week case study that attempts to provide descriptions and analyses of a particular group of learners' learning difficulties and their coping…

This paper describes the possible effects of feedback on learning (associations) using a connectionist tool, the delta rule. Feedback in instruction can be described in terms of the interaction of stimulus inputs and response outputs, an associationist perspective. Here the delta rule is applied to each instance that an input and an output likely…

The first purpose of this study is to do a comparative analysis in terms of the item difficulty and discrimination index between Mathematics Placement Test Form A and G. The results seem to suggest that items on both forms of the placement test are equally difficult. However, items on form A appear to have more discrimination power than items on…