Maintains that counselors, bewildered by the many unfamiliar terms, perceive computer applications in counseling as too complex or mechanistic. Suggests use of the term computerized focuses excessive attention on a technological innovation that is only one of many counseling resources. Recommends using terms such as computer-assisted which…

The effects of examination format and previous experience with microcomputers on the test scores of 96 undergraduate students were investigated. Results indicated no significant differences in the scores obtained on the two types of test administration (microcomputer and traditional paper and pencil). Computer experience was not an important…

Describes a computer program which will randomly select questions and change the arrangement of answers each time the program is run, providing realistic practice for standardized test-taking. A listing of the program is provided in AppleSoft BASIC, and modifications for the IBM-PC are included. (LP)

Describes two experiments which demonstrated that readers use specific lexical information in comprehending sentences to anticipate and prepare for the appearance of lexical noun phrases and to postulate "gaps" that are associated with "fillers." Results also indicated that lexically based expectations involve the use of information about…

Describes a system in which questions tailored to the examinee's capabilities are administered by computer. Enumerates possible benefits of the system, reviews the "state of the art," and predicts potential applications of computerized adaptive testing. (MCG)

Presents methodology for designing and delivering computer-assisted diagnostic tests and discusses two natural applications of this methodology: for testing purposes, and for implementing adaptive computer-assisted learning sequences based on test results. (MBR)

Discusses some of the caveats of computer-assisted teaching of foreign languages raised in David Wyatt's paper, "Computer-Assisted Teaching and Testing of Reading and Listening." These include the limited ability of the computer to display text. Questions if the benefits of computer-assisted instruction justify the time, energy, and…

Because of the great promise of distance learning for delivering cost-effective instruction, there is great interest in determining whether or not it actually is effective, and--more interesting--determining what variables of design and implementation make it more or less effective. Unfortunately, much of the research has been based on simple…

The purposes of this research study were to develop and field test anchor-based judgmental methods for enabling test specialists to estimate item difficulty statistics. The study consisted of three related field tests. In each, researchers worked with six Law School Admission Test (LSAT) test specialists and one or more of the LSAT subtests. The…

Computer-based assessment appears to offer the promise of radically improving both how assessments are implemented and the quality of the information they can deliver. However, as many states consider whether to embrace this new technology, serious concerns remain about the fairness of the new systems and the readiness of states (and districts and…

This report examines the feasibility of scoring essays using computer-based techniques. Essays have been incorporated into many of the standardized testing programs. Issues of validity and reliability must be addressed to deploy automated approaches to scoring fully. Two approaches that have been used to classify documents, surface- and word-based…

Project Essay Grade (PEG), developed by E. Page (1968) uses computerized methodology to grade student writing. PEG can also be used to assess the quality of civilian and military writing products, such as regulations or instructional texts. Application of PEG offers the potential for enhancing government efforts to monitor writing quality and…

In constrained adaptive testing, the numbers of constraints needed to control the content of the tests can easily run into the hundreds. Proper initialization of the algorithm becomes a requirement because the presence of large numbers of constraints slows down the convergence of the ability estimator. In this paper, an empirical initialization of…

The case of adaptive testing under a multidimensional logistic response model is addressed. An adaptive algorithm is proposed that minimizes the (asymptotic) variance of the maximum-likelihood (ML) estimator of a linear combination of abilities of interest. The item selection criterion is a simple expression in closed form. In addition, it is…

This paper describes an approach to large-scale assessment that uses tests that are delivered to students over the Internet and that are tailored (adapted) to each student's own level of proficiency. A brief background on large-scale assessment is followed by a description of this new technology and an example. Issues that need to be investigated…