Depending on the type of behavior one wants to measure, competency tests are either written or performance oriented. Information and cognitive processing are best measured by written demonstrations of the knowledge. Skills ability is best measured by performance testing. (Author/JOW)

An abstract is given of a paper concerning the effect of period of apparent inactivity on creative thinking. (DB)

The results of this study indicate that round robin tournaments based on matches of shortened length are highly effective in estimating the true skill ranking of table tennis players. (JD)

The main purpose of this research is 1) to establish a framework for the test development and the constructs of writing performance test, 2) to implement a developed writing performance assessment, and 3) to examine the degree of reliability and validity of the assessment tasks and rating scales. Construct-based processing approach to testing…

The Woodcock Johnson III Brief Assessment is a "maximum performance test" (Reynolds, Livingston, Willson, 2006) that is designed to assess the upper levels of knowledge and skills of the test taker using both power and speed to obtain a large amount of information in a short period of time. The Brief Assessment also provides an adequate…

This article presents 3 studies that examine how students and experts employ mental rotation and a learned heuristic to solve chemistry tasks that involve spatial information. Results from Study 1 indicate that despite instruction in analytical strategies, students choose to employ mental rotation on canonical assessment tasks. In Study 2, experts…

This study tests the social facilitation hypothesis that the mere presence of others is a sufficient condition for the production of audience effects upon learning by controlling the manner in which the subject perceives the audience. Seventy-five high-anxious and 75 low-anxious subjects were divided into three groups of 25 and tested under alone,…

This paper is based on data from Work Unit UTILITY research on job performance of men at different ability levels. The paper deals with data testing performance in four jobs: Armor Crewman, Vehicle Repairman, Supply Specialist, and Cook, of various Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) levels over specified periods of time. (Author)

Discusses microcomputer-based test types that can measure learning of classroom content: (1) objective examination, (2) hands-on examination, (3) power examination, and (4) take-home examination. Recommends that a combination of power, objective, and take-home examinations achieves representative results with a minimum loss of class time. (CH)

The purpose of the present study was twofold: first to examine the influences of sex and handedness on manual performance on the Grooved Pegboard Test; and secondly to provide normative data for two versions (Place and Remove tasks) of the Grooved Pegboard Test, as previous work (Bryden & Roy, 1999) had suggested that the Remove task of the…

Alderson (2005) suggests that diagnostic tests should identify strengths and weaknesses in learners' use of language and focus on specific elements rather than global abilities. However, rating scales used in performance assessment have been repeatedly criticized for being imprecise and therefore often resulting in holistic marking by raters…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a short intervention program designed to enhance the educators' ability to identify children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Twenty early childhood and 20 physical education teachers (n = 40) participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned into an…