Examines testing practices in: (1) the past, in which the traditional paradigm left little room for cognitive psychology principles; (2) the present, in which testing research is enhanced by principles of cognitive psychology; and (3) the future, in which the potential of cognitive psychology should be fully realized through item design.…

Outlines issues surrounding construction of self-reported ability-skill-efficacy measures, including validity, response format, and norms. Illustrates how they were addressed in the development of the Kuder Skills Assessment, which consists of six self-efficacy subscales congruent with the Kuder Career Search. (Contains 46 references.) (SK)

Evaluated procedures applying person-fit indices to identify individuals who had previously memorized test items in computerized adaptive-testing situations. All of the indices studied showed little power to detect the use of memorization. Discusses possibilities for altering a test when the model becomes inappropriate for an examinee. (SLD)

Provides an overview of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and introduces contributions to this special issue. CAT elements discussed include item selection, estimation of the latent trait, item exposure, measurement precision, and item-bank development. (SLD)

Analyzes a learning disabilities (LD) questionnaire administered to 150 adults including college and university students, and adults referred to a psychoeducational clinic for assessment or treatment related to LD. Finds that the LD screening test had internal consistency and good test-retest reliability, as well as criterion validity. Finds…

Presents a new nonparametric method for constructing a spatial representation of multidimensional test structure, the Conditional Covariance-based SCALing (CCSCAL) method. Describes an index to measure the accuracy of the representation. Uses simulation and real-life data analyses to show that the method provides a suitable approximation to…

The second edition of "Computerized Adaptive Testing" contains new materials related to: (1) chapter 2, system design; (2) chapter 4, item response theory, item calibration, and proficiency estimation; and (3) chapter 10, caveats, pitfalls, and unexpected consequences. The book raises critical computerized adaptive testing research and application…

Compared four mapping item methods using data from the physical science test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and studied the opinions of science content area experts about the difficulty of the items through a survey completed by 148 science teachers or scientists. Results of model-based mapping methods were more concordant with…

The objective of this research was to examine the comparability of constructs assessed by English and French versions of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The differences in constructs observed in our analyses indicate serious limitations of using TIMSS results for making comparisons that use overall performance in…

The future of test construction for certain psychological ability domains that can be analyzed well in a structured manner may lie--at the very least for reasons of test security--in the field of automatic item generation. In this context, a question that has not been explicitly addressed is whether it is possible to embed an item response theory…

In Manatee County, Florida, not only did they build career tech programs into career academies, but they also developed an evaluation process to ensure these career academies were credible. A District Academic team created the "Documentation of Academy Assessment Criteria" with 12 core components and a rubric that helps evaluators…

In 2002, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) published the report of an independent panel of experts into maintaining standards at Advanced Level (A-Level). One of its recommendations was for: limited experimental double marking of scripts in subjects such as English to determine whether the strategy would significantly reduce errors…

Two new measures to assess spatial ability are presented: the mental cutting test "Schnitte" (Fay & Quaiser-Pohl, 1999; English version: Fay, Quaiser-Pohl, & Ronicke, 2003), a test for selecting people with extraordinary spatial abilities, and the Picture Rotation Test (Hinze, 2002; Hinze & Quaiser-Pohl, 2003), a mental rotation test for preschool…

In this article, the author explains the key differences among three kinds of instructionally relevant tests that can have a huge impact on what goes on in classrooms: "instructionally insensitive tests," "instructionally sensitive tests," and "instructionally informative tests." If educators understand the advantages and limitations of these…

A previous study on the underlying structure of the Wechsler intelligence test (WISC-R; [Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual WISC-R: Wechsler intelligence scale for children-Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation]), using smallest space analysis (SSA) [Guttman, L., and Levy, S. (1991). Two structural laws for intelligence tests.…