Some negative feelings about tests may be the result of not understanding what tests do, what their limitations are, and how they are scored. Classroom, standardized, achievement, and criterion-referenced tests are discussed. Tips for helping children develop a realistic attitude toward tests and good work habits are given. (MT)

Johns Hopkins University has abandoned use of the Medical College Admission Test as a medical college admissions requirement in an effort to reestablish the validity of humanities in medical students' educational background and is encouraging other medical schools to make the test optional and underscore their support of general education. (MSE)

High school students trained in test-taking skills performed markedly higher on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test than did controls. On two subtests, vocabulary and comprehension, controls scored significantly lower than the experimental group. A relationship was noted between parental help with test-taking preparation and level of test performance.…

Seeing intelligence as neither strongly hereditary nor necessarily stable over time, and accepting the notion that it is a significant determinant of future occupational status, liberal psychologists and educators rely on the intervention of social institutions, primarily the school. The liberal view toward testing and intelligence is discussed.…

The preceding article by Robert Sternberg implicitly accepts the idea that there is a single human potential called "intelligence" that is scientifically measurable. Human beings do not possess any such generalized intelligence, however. Instead, each person possesses a mix of several basic intellectual competencies or…

A statistical comparison of scores on the previous and redesigned Medical College Admission Tests showed that neither was a powerful predictor of scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners Part III examination, a measure of clinical competence at the first-year resident level. Other subtest results were also found. (MSE)

Critiques college admission requirements, pointing out that entrance tests determine what is taught in high school curriculum. For testing to be effective, colleges and high schools must specify the content of college preparatory curriculum. (MD)

The effects of ability grouping on the achievement and self-esteem of fourth-grade students were assessed through regression-discontinuity analysis. Standardized achievement test scores showed an increase in the high ability students after one year. No significant differences were assessed in self-esteem. (Author/DF)

Suggests how teachers can make materials more comprehensible for students rather than relying on readability formulas for reading material selection. (AEA)

As a preliminary step in customizing the Stanford Achievement Test, a study was made to compare the test items at each level with the curriculum objectives of a Florida school district, classifying them as either matching, above or below grade level, or unmatching. Results are shown in table form. (TE)

Items missed on the PPVT were analyzed according to race and sex; results indicated that an alternative form of the test might use stimulus words other than those missed by a disproportinate number of subjects in this study. (MM)

Advantages of three methods for evaluating kindergarten children (standardized tests, early identification procedures, and criterion-referenced tests) are explained. (GW)

Where estimation of abilities in the lower half of the ability distribution for the Raven Progressive Matrices is important, or an increase in accuracy of ability estimation is needed, the multiple category latent trait estimation provides a rational procedure for realizing gains in accuracy from the use of information in wrong responses.…

Article presented a true story of how two cities ran testing programs and the lessons that can be learned from their failures. (Editor/RK)