A note from the Working Group of the Joint Committee on Testing Practices: The "Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education (Code)" prepared by the Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP) has just been revised for the first time since its initial introduction in 1988. The revision of the Code was inspired primarily by the revision of…

The purpose of a credentialing examination is to assure the public that individuals who work in an occupation or profession have met certain standards. To be consistent with this purpose, credentialing examinations must be job related, and this requirement is typically met by developing test plans based on an empirical job or practice analysis.…

This article describes the derivation of a short-form of the Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory (MM-CGI), an inventory designed to measure grief in caregivers of persons with progressive dementia. It presents initial reliability and validity data and describes ways to use the inventory both clinically and scientifically. The resulting MM-CGI…

This paper reports the initial results of a study that was designed to develop and test an instrument that could identify the elements of an individual's capacity for lifelong learning. We anticipated that the components of this capacity would include a complex mix of dispositions, lived experiences, social relations, values, attitudes and beliefs…

This article provides practical advice on the development of test and item specifications. Because my experience has been with English as a second or foreign language, most examples are taken from this field, although they can be applied to other language tests. The article first discusses steps in the process of test development, including…

This article describes the development of assessment criteria for specific aspects of examination answers and coursework essays in psychology. The criteria specified the standards expected for seven aspects of students' work: addressing the question, covering the area, understanding the material, evaluating the material, developing arguments,…

In this report, the development, field testing, and validation of the Classroom Literacy Environment Profile (CLEP) are described. In the first phase, characteristics of print-rich classroom environments were identified, defined, and organized into categories through a review of the literature, classroom observations, and teacher focus groups. In…

The authors argue that an effective way to describe the manifestation of interest patterns within a particular work domain is through a nuanced description of interests in terms of the essential functional activities common to that domain. Focusing on the domain of business work and studying a large sample of business professionals over a 15-year…

This article reports new research supporting the two bipolar work task dimensions that underlie the World-of-Work Map (WWM) and Holland's hexagon--working with data versus ideas (D/I) and working with things versus people (T/P). Three databases provided diverse perspectives on basic work tasks: (a) general nature of work (expert ratings for 1,122…

This article shows how set covering with item sampling (SCIS) methods can be used in the analysis and preanalysis of linear programming models for test assembly (LPTA). LPTA models can construct tests, fulfilling a set of constraints set by the test assembler. Sometimes, no solution to the LPTA model exists. The model is then said to be…

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System measures teacher effectiveness on the basis of student gains, implicitly controlling for socioeconomic status and other background factors that influence initial levels of achievement. The absence of explicit controls for student background has been criticized on the grounds that these factors influence…

Objective: Given the present emphasis on accountability and maintaining quality, the objective of this study was to develop, apply, and assess the reliability of a fidelity rating instrument for consumer-operated services--a promising model, but one for which fidelity criteria are not yet established. Method: Based on observations, documents, and…

Developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a regular survey to assess the preparedness of 15-year-olds for adult life in over 40 countries/regions. Hong Kong joined PISA in 2000. This article introduces the background and framework of PISA and…

Lyle V. Jones served as director of the Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory and also became the Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Graduate School of the University of North Carolina (UNC). Jones has been a Research Professor at UNC since 1992. This article presents an interview with Jones wherein he talked about his career as a researcher. Jones also…

The procedure for the development of a measure of humour appreciation among a convenience sample of 53 primary school children attending a one-week summer program held in Hong Kong is described. Two sets of visual stimuli depicting pictures of local celebrities portrayed either veridically (congruously) or incongruously were established from a…