A proficient item writer should possess several attributes: knowledge and understanding of the material being tested, continuous awareness of objectives, continous awareness of the instructional model, understanding of the students for whom the items are intended, skill in written communication, and skill in the techniques of item writing. The…

The assumptions behind secondary school literature course tests--whether asking students to recall aspects of literary works, to relate literary works to each other, or to analyze unfamiliar literary works--are open to question. They fail to acknowledge some of the most important aspects of literature which, if properly taught, should provide a…

The occupational specializations and therapeutic orientations of clinical psychologists were related to their use and opinion of testing. The two tests clinicians considered most important to clinical practice were the Rorschach and the Thematic Apperception Test. Among the 10 most frequently recommended test, projective measures were listed 30…

Testing techniques that can be used in introductory geography courses are evaluated. A modification of multiple-choice tests is described which incorporates both objective and subjective formats: a student selects a multiple-choice answer, writes down his reasons for the selection, and is graded on both parts of his answer. (Author/ND)

Five hundred clinical psychologists were surveyed about their use and opinions of psychological tests. Results showed that both objective and projective tests are used by clinical psychologists of all major therapeutic orientations. (Author)

It has long been recognized that students' performance on test questions may be affected by structural aspects of the test itself. Here, the extent to which items, placed at the end of General Certificate of Education tests, influence test taking is examined, and the effect on performance of items placed early or late is considered. (Author/RK)

This study was designed to examine the level of dependence within multiple true-false test-item clusters by computing sets of item correlations with data from a test composed of both multiple true-false and multiple-choice items. (Author/LMO)

It was hypothesized that matching test formats would reduce test anxiety. Three experiments were conducted in which high school juniors and seniors took parallel matching and multiple-choice tests covering topics of prior knowledge or recently learned information. Results showed that matching tests were superior to multiple choice formats.…

Complex multiple choice (CMC) items are frequently used to test knowledge about repetitive information. In two independent comparisons, performance on the CMC items surpassed that of the multiple true-false clusters. Data indicate that performance on CMC items is inflated, and distractors on CMC items fail to prevent guessing. (Author/PN)

The question whether the range of assessment for a course in Greek literature in translation can be broadened to include multiple choice tests is explored. An experimental test is described and evaluated. (RM)

Discusses the difficulty of objectively testing comprehension in English. (RB)

Summarizes the views of two teachers who hold widely divergent views on what can be called classical examination methods - essay papers and objective exams. One of these authors is an Englishman, the other an American, but their views, while obviously conditioned by training, are shared or questioned by many colleagues regardless of national…

The extent to which essay and objective tests measure the same or different abilities when instruction and content remain constant is investigated. (PR)