Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) offers the opportunity to replace paper-and-pencil aptitude tests such as the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery with shorter, more accurate, and more secure computer-administered tests. Its potential advantages need to be verified by experimental administration of automated tests to military recruit…

The Assessment Resource Center (ARC) at Florida State University provides computer assisted testing (CAT) for approximately 4,000 students each term. Computer capabilities permit a small proctoring staff to administer tests simultaneously to large numbers of students. Programs provide immediate feedback for students and generate a variety of…

The resurgence of testing and the significance of this trend to learning assistance facilitators and developmental educators are discussed. This increase in testing, particularly as it manifests itself on college and university campuses, reflects a shift of emphasis in testing, from measuring aptitude to measuring the effect of instruction.…

The interaction between fluid aptitude and two levels of instructional method (expository and discovery) was investigated. The methods differed in the completeness of the support provided for cognitive processing of procedural knowledge. Four performance outcomes were measured--immediate and delayed recall, and near and far transfer of the…

This report defines the functions of computer-managed learning (CML) as (1) test generation, correction, and analysis; (2) record keeping and reporting; (3) routing learners through a set of learning activities; and (4) charting learner progress for a variety of purposes. It then describes the hardware characteristics and configuration of three…

A study was conducted to determine if attentional difficulties would be found in reading disabled children and to discover if increasing the complexity of a task would result in a relative decrease in the performance of the children. Twelve dyslexic boys, aged eight and nine, and 12 normal subjects similar in age and IQ participated in the study.…

The United States Armed Services are planning to introduce computerized adaptive testing (CAT) into the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which is a major part of the present personnel assessment procedures. Adaptive testing will improve efficiency greatly by assessing each candidate's answers as the test progresses and posing…

If microcomputers are used as automated testing stations, for use in psychometric assessment, there are economic advantages. Discussion follows, however, on whether it is possible to improve the quality of cognitive assessment by extending the range of cognitive abilities to be assessed. Two types of extension are considered: modifying and…

The use of systems theory as a conceptual framework is proposed as useful when considering computers as a machine component in teaching. Skinner's proposal that the label "computer" is inaccurate and counterproductive when used to refer to a machine being used for teaching is discussed. It is suggested that the alternative label…

With the goal of improving the reliability and validity of tests of English as a foreign language, in particular with respect to the question of whether to allow notetaking on EFL/ESL computer-based listening comprehension tests, the present study examined the effects on ESL listening comprehension of notetaking (allowed or disallowed) in relation…

This volume includes the texts of more than 50 papers presented at a conference which was organized to present in one forum all major work regarding computers in education in the United States, as well as abstracts of the special sessions, tutorials, and project presentations which took place at the conference. Among the topics covered in these…

Triton College, under the auspices of a National Science Foundation grant, has designed a team taught course combining an engineering and rhetoric course in which students are introduced to the engineering profession and its communication techniques. The instructional technique is multi-faceted, integrating simulation of the professional…

In an adaptive test, the test administrator chooses test items sequentially during the test, in such a way as to adapt test difficulty to examinee ability as shown during testing. An effectively designed adaptive test can resolve the dilemma inherent in conventional test design. By tailoring tests to individuals, the adaptive test can…

The development of a computer self-test program in geology at Macalester College, Minnesota, is described. Based on the philosophy that tests, particularly those involving no grading, are useful study devices, computers are used to make tests available to students. Ten lessons have been developed on different topics in geology, and the computer…

Implementation of an adaptive achievement test for teaching signed-numbers operations to junior high students is described. A computer program capable of finding 240 basic errors in signed-number computations was written on the PLATO system and used for analyzing a 64-item conventional test, as well as an adaptive test of addition problems. The…