Impromtu pre- and post-test essays by 302 students randomly selected from over 80 sections of a first-semester freshman composition course revealed significant improvement. (DD)

This study demonstrates that multiple matrix sampling procedures can be used to collect assessment data efficiently, unabstrusively, and reliably. (MB)

Previous research has shown that compared with their American counterparts, Chinese students' artwork is perceived as less creative by both Chinese and American judges. Three different factors are posited to be responsible for the discrepancy in rated creativity between Chinese and American students, namely, social values, school pedagogic…

Studied the opinions of professional psychologists in Europe about tests and testing with samples of 3,455 Spanish, 2,407 English, 2,079 Dutch, 321 Slovenian, 219 Croatian, and 210 Belgian psychologists. Results show a generally positive attitude about tests and testing, coupled with an awareness that institutions need to adopt a more active role…

Presents results from a national survey of two-year colleges regarding placement practices for calculus. High school records were the most important factor, followed by placement test results and college entrance examination scores. (DMM)

Defines a cycle of assessment and action, and a continuum from formative to summative assessments. Illustrates problems caused when one assessment must serve both formative and summative functions. Argues that separating the collection of evidence from its interpretation, or the interpretation of evidence from consequent action, helps alleviate…

A teacher of gifted and talented students recounts her own personal experience of "failing" a creativity test and the realization that tests have limitations and only measure an individual's performance on a given day based on particular standards and criteria. (DB)

Discusses how online programs are using new strategies of testing, both to teach students and to prove that distance education works; however, some educators question their efficacy. (EV)

Discusses various aspects of standardization and testing in science education and their effects on students and on reform efforts. Argues that science educators need to begin to question the system and their practices with regard to testing and need to be willing to act on the answers they find. Contains 10 references. (JRH)

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.…

Describes the Dutch rating system for test quality, which evaluates a test for seven criteria, and analyses the results of test ratings from the past 18 years. Results show a steady increase in test quality in the Netherlands that can be attributed to use of better tests and declining use of tests of less quality after evaluation. (SLD)

Describes the 1997 revision of the Dutch Rating System for Test Quality used by a committee of the Dutch Association of Psychologists. The rating system evaluates test quality on seven criteria using a checklist for each criterion. Comment sections provide additional information, and weighting rules establish the final grades. (SLD)

This article focuses on Louis Guttman's contributions to the classical theory of educational and psychological tests, one of the lesser known of his many contributions to quantitative methods in the social sciences. Guttman's work in this field provided a rigorous mathematical basis for ideas that, for many decades after Spearman's initial work,…

This study examined the validity of one state's alternate assessment portfolio system using the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education's Standards for Psychological and Educational Testing. The results indicate serious shortcomings in the evidence for content,…

Item families, which are groups of related items, are becoming increasingly popular in complex educational assessments. For example, in automatic item generation (AIG) systems, a test may consist of multiple items generated from each of a number of item models. Item calibration or scoring for such an assessment requires fitting models that can…