Each year high school students match wits with the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. The results help determine who gets into the most selective colleges. The tests are the subject of a growing debate. This article examines possible bias and its effects. (Author/JAC)

Current conflicts over test bias and "truth-in-testing" reflect differing aims of education and the increasingly important social role of testing in our society. (Author)

The problems and intricacies involved in fairly interpreting and applying federally mandated testing legislation are discussed in terms of the competency-testing issue evolving in many Florida public high schools. (LH)

Commonly used standardized intelligence scales are free from the inherent flaws that allegedly result in discriminatory assessment. Issues of internal validity, predictive validity, and examiner effects are discussed. (Author/JKS)

Points out three difficulties with the Munz-Smouse test anxiety classification scheme. Describes an alternative procedure and illustrates its advantages over the Munz-Smouse procedure. (RL)

Artificially induced expectancy of essay quality and handwriting quality of essays were shown to affect reader ratings of essay tests. There was a significant effect for expectancy, none for handwriting, and an interesting but non-significant interaction effect. (JKS)

The development and validation of the Vocational Interest Inventory, a forced choice guidance instrument is described. It assists high school students, whose interests are not well differentiated, in making post-high school educational and vocational decisions. (JKS)

The growth in the minimum competency testing movement stems not only from a concern with what students are getting from their schooling, but also from a desire to make sure that the public gets a return on its investment in education. (Author/RLV)

Matched samples of Mexican American and Anglo children with learning difficulty referrals were compared on WISC-R subtest performance. The Mexican Americans scored significantly lower on Similarities, Arithmetic, and Picture Completion. Their Verbal and Performance IQ score discrepancies suggest that the major educational problem of this group is…

Effects of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII), Vocational Card Sort (VCS), and Auxiliary Informative Material (AIM) were examined in relation to (a) number and type of career options considered; (b) frequency and variety of information-seeking behaviors; (c) career salience; and (d) satisfaction with the career exploration experience.…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) in identifying gifted black and Hispanic students in a total population of 20,270 students (K-12). Analysis indicated that similar percentages of white (5.6%), black (5.1%), and Hispanic (4.4%) children earned an NNAT score in the 95th percentile rank. (Contains…

This book summarizes the evaluation by the Committee on the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) of the National Research Council of the U.S. Employment Service's use of the GATB. The book serves professional users, policymakers, and students of psychometrics because of its clear and concise review of important issues. (SLD)

A group of eight educators and one law student discusses the most recent changes in the Scholastic Aptitude Test content and format, which will include a reasoning test and a battery of subject tests. Comments focus on general reactions, specific additions and deletions, test bias, implications for admissions, and coaching. (MSE)

It is suggested that some of the technology applied to state Scholastic Aptitude Test scores to measure states' educational performance (particularly use of a truncated Gaussian model) may make it possible to adjust National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores to make inferences about state educational progress possible. (SLD)

The degree to which test item bias techniques can lead to interpretable results when groups are defined in terms of specified differences in the cognitive processes involved in problem-solving strategies was studied. Data from two groups of junior high school students (N=545) were used. (TJH)