This article describes a number of problems every educational measurement specialist should be prepared to confront before using microcomputers to support test-related activities, including problems with hardware, with software, and with implementing a system. It concludes with a checklist for planning a microcomputer application. (BW)

Computer Adaptive Sequential Testing (CAST) is a test delivery model that combines features of the traditional conventional paper-and-pencil testing and item-based computerized adaptive testing (CAT). The basic structure of CAST is a panel composed of multiple testlets adaptively administered to examinees at different stages. Current applications…

The World Wide Web influences education and our lives in many ways. Nowadays, Web-based homework has been becoming widespread practice in physics courses and some other courses as well. Although are some disputes whether this is an encouraging or risky development for student learning, there is limited research assessing the pedagogical effect of…

This article reports the results of a project that examined student perceptions of the psychosocial learning environment in a distance education classroom. The study utilized a survey instrument, Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES) that was distributed as a pre-test/post-test to three sections of the same course taught in three…

This final edition focuses on two global issues that encompass most, if not all, of the topics explored in previous issues. With an emphasis on academic success for all children, the authors look at a method of universally designed assessment developed by the Kentucky Department of Education and based on the tenets of universal design for…

The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate three online pretest item calibration/scaling methods in terms of item parameter recovery when the item responses to the pretest items in the pool would be sparse. The three methods considered were the marginal maximum likelihood estimate with one EM cycle (OEM) method, the marginal maximum…

In a previous study (1998), how to evaluate whether adaptive testing data used for online calibration sufficiently fit the item response model used by C. Glas was studied. Three approaches were suggested, based on a Lagrange multiplier (LM) statistic, a Wald statistic, and a cumulative sum (CUMSUM) statistic respectively. For all these methods,…

Our research question was whether we could develop a feasible technique, using Bayesian networks, to diagnose gaps in student knowledge. Thirty-four college-age participants completed tasks designed to measure conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and problem-solving skills related to circuit analysis. A Bayesian network was used to model…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the 55 test specifications for the Praxis I: Academic Skills Assessments computer-based tests (CBT) and the Praxis I: Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST) were judged to be appropriate for entry-level vocational education teachers regardless of specialty area. The test specification statements were…

Different kinds of tests are given to determine student achievement. Standardized achievement tests are often used, but have many limitations. They may be useful in determining the content students should learn and its relevance for future learning and the curriculum. Criterion referenced tests eliminate a major weakness of standardized tests in…

In quantitative courses, examinations measure a small portion of the students' subject mastery, and grading is difficult. Take-home examinations test more but their development is difficult. Computer assisted test construction, where a computer generates random data within relative constraints for preprogrammed examination questions, is proposed…

Describes a test item bank developed by the Association for Medical School Departments of Biochemistry (Texas). Programs (written in Pascal) allow self-evaluation by interactive student access to questions randomly selected from a chosen category. Potential users of the system (having student, manager, and instructor modes) are invited to contact…

Provides rationale for computer-assisted testing and assessment, describes systems currently in use, and examines potential benefits, potential problems, and future implications. Suggests that computer-assisted testing and assessment has potential to either enhance services and resources or to generate problems and confusion for clients and…

Subjecting the comprehension passages of the Gates-McGinitie Reading Test to readability analysis using a multiformula computer program revealed that the instrument can best be used for making comparisons between groups using the same test forms and levels in the same sequence. (FL)

Describes a computer-assisted testing system which produces multiple-choice examinations for a college course in business administration. The system uses SPIRES (Stanford Public Information REtrieval System) to manage a database of questions and related data, mark-sense cards for machine grading tests, and ACL (6) (Audit Command Language) to…