This commentary discusses three essential themes in performance assessment and its scoring. First, scores should mean something. Second, performance scores should permit fair and meaningful comparisons. Third, validity-reducing errors should be minimal. Increased attention to performance assessment may overcome these problems. (SLD)

This book discusses adapting pencil-and-paper tests to computerized testing. Mention is made of models for graded responses to items and of possibilities beyond pencil-and-paper-tests, but the book is essentially about dichotomously scored test items. Contrasts between item response theory and classical test theory are described. (SLD)

The Response to Conflict Scale, a 24-item measure of maladaptive responses to marital conflict, was evaluated psychometrically with 420 couples. The inventory showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct and discriminant validity, and classification efficiency. Clinical utility is discussed. (SLD)

Methods of adjusting group differences in assessment and test scores are described, classified, and evaluated. Investigation of the relationship between intended use of test scores and the appropriate meaning of scores is essential for fair treatment in assessment. (SLD)

Reports on the work of the International Language Testing Association's (ILTA) Task Force on Testing Standards, which has compiled 109 bibliographic records from 24 countries on existing standards documents and solicits feedback for the development of an ILTA code of practice. (MDM)

Reports on two studies that indicate Role Category Questionnaire-based indicators do not reflect differences in construct system development. Shows that respondents reported their actions were intentional, goal- and other-directed, and communication. Reveals a substantial correlation between verbal efficiency and number of abstract descriptors,…

The validity of the subtests and composites of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) for grades in 150 military technical schools was investigated with 88,724 Air Force recruits. Across all jobs, arithmetic reasoning was the most valid subtest, and the electronics composite was the most valid composite. (SLD)

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill medical school uses an objective structured clinical examination as the final exam in physical diagnosis. Since 1987, students and evaluators have shown overwhelming acceptance and support of the test, partly because it is structured for teaching as well as assessment. (Author/MSE)

Six interest measures and 15 ability measures were administered to 2,101 high school seniors in 19 vocational-technical schools. Computer-based score interpretation would have referred approximately 80 percent of satisfied/successful students to job cluster containing vocational program they completed. Results indicated that computer-based…

Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) were administered in counterbalanced order to 35 referred students. Although K-BIT intelligence quotient (IQ) Composite correlated significantly with WISC-R Full Scale IQ scores, mean scores differed significantly. Results provide moderate support…

Describes a revision of the Names Test, an easy-to-administer phonics assessment. Describes what was done to increase the test's category reliability, to further examine the test's validity, and to enhance its usability. (SR)

Notes that the methods used to set standards for National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tests suggest recommendations for state-level policymakers. Explains the national assessment, basic assumptions in setting performance standards on NAEP, selection of judges, standard-setting methodology for NAEP, and measurement issues in setting…

Describes the development of the Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool (OAIP), a curriculum-based item bank for use in Ontario schools. The nearly $10,000,000 project, lacking implementation and evaluation activities, resulted in limited classroom use. The objective-based assessment also contradicted a child-centered educational philosophy. (KS)

Major changes in the content and format, standard-setting procedures, and score reporting policies in the National Board of Medical Examiners' comprehensive Part I examination are described. The phase-in of the United States Medical Licensing Examination and implications for score use are also discussed. (Author/MSE)

Research relating to the factor structure of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire is reviewed. Different opinions about the factors measured by the 16PF are discussed. Focusing on the second-order factor level could eliminate problems with the instruments' reliability. (SLD)