Five of the common misuses of tests are reviewed: (1) acceptance of the test title as an accurate and complete description of the variable being measured (failure to examine the manual and the items carefully to know the specific aspects to be tested can result in misuse through selection of an inappropriate test for a particular purpose or…

In a national survey of psychological testing, researchers have suggested that future surveys of test use should report separately for individual settings. The purpose of this investigation was to gauge the status of psychological test usage in a specific type of agency. Outpatient mental health facilities and community clinics in the United…

The paper looks at purposes of educational assessment of children with learning disabilities, assessment of the whole child, the plan for an assessment battery, the nuances of carrying out the assessment, and communication of the results to maximize appropriate follow up. Assessment purposes identified include screening, determining eligibility,…

The Community Counseling Appraisal Survey was completed by 743 members of the American Association for Counseling and Development who identified their primary professional activity as counselor and who indicated their employment setting to be other than school or higher education. The purpose of the study was to: (1) provide a description of…

The purpose of this paper is to show the effect of using a selection test on the average criterion score of the entering class. The correlation coefficient (times 100) is shown to be the percentage of improvement of using the selection test over what would happen on the average if the test were not used. A simple formula is developed for…

The New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills (MBS) testing program is the result of 1976 legislation. The major purpose, aside from establishing a uniform standard of pupil proficiency, has been to provide local districts information on individual pupil proficiency and identify program strengths and weaknesses. To better meet the needs of local districts,…

The history and institutional use of cutoff scores is reviewed, emphasizing the changes in these scores used over the years and the rationale used in selecting cutoff scores. A brief description of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is provided, as is background about how it works. Cutoff score recommendations of the American Council on…

A basic consideration in conducting a career education needs assessment is whether to select published tests or to develop new instruments and evaluation techniques. Advantages of published tests are availability and convenience and ease to use. Advantages in using self-developed measures can be seen by examining a needs assessment study in which…

The ultimate goal of the institutional researcher is not always to test a research hypothesis, but more often simply to find an appropriate model to gain an understanding of the underlying characteristics and interrelationships of the data. Exploratory data analysis provides a means of accomplishing this. (Author)

Examines major issues in the debate over Crouse's research and recommendations concerning the (SAT) Scholastic Aptitude Test's incremental value in admissions; the nature of the admissions process; other benefits to colleges of the SAT; its possible benefits for college applicants; and the use of college admissions tests as interventions for…

Describes Family Task Interview (FTI), multiple task interview administered by tape recorder and designed to elicit clinically relevant family interaction. Notes that results from studies conducted to evaluate FTI's validity, reliability, and acceptability suggest the FTI is well-standardized, easily administered instrument for assessment of…

Classroom measurement devices, when tailored to fit a teacher's particular instructional objectives, are essential for optimal teaching and learning. Teachers use test data to assess students' progress but often fail to analyze tests for validity. This article shows how locally and correctly developed assessment tools may serve a variety of…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) was administered to 56 learning disabled children, using standard assessment procedures and format as outlined by Wechsler. Abbreviated Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores were then derived by applying the Kennedy-Elder (K-E) formula. Frequent IQ classification changes rendered the K-E…

Presents a comparative review of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills--Mathematics and the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test. Performance of fifth- and sixth-grade students (N=548) on the two batteries was also compared. Results indicated the two tests measure essentially the same mathematics skills. (JAC)

The article presents guidelines for transforming information from conventional testing into data useful in classroom instruction of exceptional students. Steps are described first for converting a norm referenced test to instructionally relevant information, and second, for applying, rescoring, and summarizing results of the criterion referenced…