Shares some lessons learned from performance-based assessment in the health professions, using four performance-based assessment methods as examples: (1) written clinical simulations (patient-management problems); (2) computer-based clinical simulations; (3) oral examinations; and (4) standardized patients (live simulations). (SLD)

This article explores the relationship between the inclusion movement and the development of national standards for "all students," and outlines their implications for technology-assisted improvements in assessment of students with disabilities. Testing accommodations, such as input/output adaptations, can be facilitated with technology, and new…

Discussion of computerized adaptive testing focuses on a study of graduate students at Indiana University at Bloomington that examined three kinds of computerized adaptive testing procedures to determine their psychological impact and how they may affect test performance. Previous research is reviewed, and further research is suggested. (28…

Reports on a study of the association between computer anxiety and measures of positive and negative affect when using computerized vs. standard administration. Gender differences across the two modes of administration were assessed. Measures of state, trait, and mathematics anxiety were obtained to clarify the association between computer anxiety…

A model-testing approach for evaluating the stability of item response theory item parameter estimates (IPEs) in a pretest-posttest design is illustrated. Nineteen items from the Head Start Measures Battery were used. A moderately high degree of stability in the IPEs for 5,510 children assessed on 2 occasions was found. (TJH)

Describes a study conducted at the University of Guelph that compared the learning achievements of a computer-administered mastery testing approach with a seminar-discussion approach. Pretests and posttests are described, student opinions are reported, and results are reported that indicate mastery/testing generated higher learning achievement.…

The study examined use of a curriculum-based measurement computer program to first, evaluate phonetic patterns in four spelling curricula and second, help special education teachers (N=27) identify students' phonetic spelling errors. Results indicated similarities among curricula and effectiveness of the ongoing feedback on teachers' skills. (DB)

Describes the workings of computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Focuses on the key concept of information and then discusses two important components of a CAT system: the calibrated item bank and the testing algorithm. Describes a CAT that was designed for making placement decisions on the basis of two typical test administrations and notes the…

Over four weeks, 81 secondary students with learning disabilities were tested on four parallel mathematics performance assessments, each under a different condition: standard administration, teacher-read, computer-read, and computer-read with video. Results indicated that providing a reader, either human or computer, increased scores on…

This article describes a technology tool integrated into course content at Iowa State University that enhances instruction for the group as well as the individual student in teacher preparation classes. "Discourse" is a group response program that links a teacher-station computer to individual student terminals via infrared networking. (Contains…

General self-efficacy (GSE), individuals' belief in their ability to perform well in a variety of situations, has been the subject of increasing research attention. However, the psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity) associated with the scores on GSE measures have been criticized, which has hindered efforts to further establish the…

The Internet has become an inevitable tool for collecting health and health behavior questionnaires. This study compared the feasibility, presence of score differences, and subjective evaluations by children between Internet and identical paper (asthma/fruit) questionnaires in elementary schools. A randomized crossover design was applied, with…

Gateway tests provide a means of assuring that students in reformed precalculus and calculus courses acquire the algebraic and computational skills needed in courses following these, while allowing the focus of the course to be on the conceptual understanding intrinsic to the reformed courses. However, logistical difficulties plague the…

Over the last 20 years, writing about technology (and more recently about its use in assessment systems) has been a joyful experience, in part because the author was usually right about how fast and how unexpected technology progress would be made. In this article, the author suggests to rethink assessment systems from design perspectives and the…

The development of e-learning has opened up new opportunities for innovation in assessment practices in higher education. This descriptive case study draws upon staff and student experiences of teaching and learning on a web-based Masters programme in primary health care to explore how specific features of the online environment can be exploited…