The usefulness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) was examined for 162 delinquent boys in a state training school who were compared with 805 nondelinquent male adolescents and the original MMPI sample of 7,783 male adolescents. The most useful scales are discussed. (SLD)

Studied 18 states with high-stakes testing to see if their programs were affecting student learning, analyzing results from additional tests covering some of the same domain as each state's own test. Findings suggest that in all but one case, student learning is indeterminate, remains at the same level, or actually decreases with the…

Tests are used for making decisions about students, including decisions about promotion, in-grade retention, and high school graduation. This article provides criteria for evaluating the technical quality of tests used for high-stakes decisions in education. The intent is to provide educators with information for evaluating their testing program.…

Conducted survey of community-based counselors (N=743) to determine standardized test use for individual appraisal. Explored kinds of tests used, educational level of test user, and respondents' perceptions of importance of appraisal. Found bare majority used test instruments; Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory used most; and fewer than…

Evaluated elementary school students (N=198) using six mental processing subtests of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and three tests of planning. Results indicated orthogonal simultaneous and sequential factors emerged; the verbal simultaneous test was a good addition; and a "planning" factor identified by three…

The Clinical Skills Assessment Examination was constructed to test the clinical skills of foreign medical graduates. A pilot test of 635 foreign graduates, including 35 United States citizens, and 123 graduates of U.S. medical schools found 28 percent of foreign graduates deficient in clinical skills, consistent with previous research. (MSE)

The book reviewed is a compendium of current thinking about measurement theory and test use. It includes content by 26 authors at 3 levels: (1) accessible to educators, policy makers, and graduate students; (2) suited for technical students; and (3) written for qualified measurement specialists. Strengths and weaknesses are noted. (SLD)

Reviews a volume of descriptive and evaluative information on 47 commercially available English language proficiency tests used in North America, Great Britain, and Australia. The book includes discussions of uses and misuses of tests, and overviews of English as second language testing in North America and Great Britain. (SV)

Presents a unified concept of test validity that integrates both the scientific and ethical considerations of test interpretation and use. Argues that the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of score-based inferences are inseparable, and that this integration is based on construct validity. (FMW)

Reviews Family Health Scale, instrument developed to assess a family's level of overall functioning based upon clinical observation of family interaction. Describes six dimensions of scale: affective status, communication, boundaries, adaptability and stability, alliances, and family competence. Reviews studies which have used Family Health Scale.…

A survey investigated the extent of clinical pharmacists' use of and competence in patient care activities involving physical assessment skills, especially for monitoring drug therapy. Responses are discussed and the need for inclusion of physical assessment instruction for pharmacy students is emphasized. (MSE)

Reviews problems and issues in early childhood evaluation, and discusses advantages and disadvantages associated with using classroom observations. The "Bronson Social and Task Skill Profile" is described, and its usefulness is discussed by reviewing the way it has been used in several research studies. (HTH)

"Tests in Print IV" is a two-volume comprehensive master index of commercially published separate test titles in print that are available for purchase and use. There are over 3,000 entries, the majority of which originated in the United States. It is an invaluable resource for English-speaking test users. (SLD)

It is argued that point estimates of effect sizes and confidence intervals around these point estimates are more appropriate statistics for individual studies than reliance on statistical significance testing and that meta-analysis is appropriate for analysis of data from multiple studies. (SLD)

The retest stability of four Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) short forms (Kaufman, Ishikuma, and Kaufman-Packer; Reynolds, Wilson and Clark; Silverstein; Ward) was investigated with 61 subjects aged 75 to 87 years. Short form stability in each instance was comparable to that of the standard WAIS-R. (SLD)