Guidelines for test developers and users are provided to insure that construction and selection of test instruments are conducted fairly. In addition to development and selection, issues of interpretation of scores; provision of information to test takers; and prevention of test bias based on race, gender, or ethnicity are addressed. Twenty-one…

The Subcommittee on Truth in Testing of the Interim Joint Committee on Education was formed in response to Senate Resolution 43 of the 1982 Kentucky General Assembly. Its task was to study the questions regarding the effectiveness and equity of standardized testing, which has become an important part of the academic experience of public school…

In educational testing, one is concerned to get as much information as possible about a given examinee from each minute of testing time. Maximum information is obtained when the difficulty of each test exercise matches the estimated ability level of the examinee. The goal of adaptive testing is to accomplish this. Adaptive patterns are reviewed…

In an attempt to determine the variables that best predict HOME (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment) scores, a measure for identifying young at-risk children, 52 mothers of infants completed questionnaires based on HOME. Clinical observation of mother-child interaction was also performed. The questionnaire was found to be…

The paper describes the development and use of the Behavior Evaluation Scale (BES), an instrument designed to rate behavior problems for diagnosis, assist in developing individualized education programs (IEPs), document progress resulting from intervention, and collect data for research purposes. The uses of the BES in screening, diagnosis, IEP…

Formative and summative evaluations in education are compared, and appropriate uses of these methods in program evaluation are discussed. The main purpose of formative evaluation is to determine a level of mastery of a learning task, along with discovering any part of the task that was not mastered. In other words, formative evaluation focuses the…

Five papers given at a conference on the role of testing in the teaching profession are presented. The conference partners included the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Educational Testing Service, Center for Fair and Open Testing, and National Education Association. The following issues are discussed: appropriate uses of…

This digest on test uses in counseling discusses the selection, administration, and scoring of tests; the interpretation of test results; and communication of results to clients. It examines such issues in testing as confidentiality, counselor preparation, client involvement in the testing process, computerized testing, and ethics. (NB)

It seems possible to evaluate language proficiency as behavioral ability by: (1) observing authentic language behavior, (2) examining the tacit knowledge that underlies language behavior or testing specific tasks based on capabilities that are linked to implicit knowledge of a language, and (3) testing the acquired explicit knowledge, such as use…

The study examined psychometric properties of the Comprehensive Early Evaluation and Programming System (CEEPS), a criterion-referenced instrument designed for handicapped children birth to 3 years old. The instrument was intended to provide specific information to develop program objectives across a range of developmental areas and to assess…

Two kinds of WISC-R short forms, item reduction and subtest reduction, are reviewed in terms of their ability to meet these criteria of adequacy: a significant correlation between the full scale IQ and the short form IQ, a non-significant difference between the full and short form mean IQ, a low percentage of IQ classification changes resulting…

The United States Employment Service (USES) Specific Aptitude Test Battery (SATB) for Customer-Service Representative is evaluated from three points of view: (1) technical adequacy of the research; (2) fairness to minorities; and (3) usefulness of the battery to Employment Service staff and employers in selecting individuals for training in…

The United States Employment Service (USES) Specific Aptitude Test Battery (SATB) for Gambling Dealer is evaluated from three points of view: (1) technical adequacy of the research; (2) fairness to minorities; and (3) usefulness of the battery to Job Service staff and employers in selecting individuals for training as Gambling Dealers. Research…

A computerized student record system with a testing system that allows schools to fully utilize testing data is being developed at Oakland Schools in Pontiac, Michigan. Test data are integrated with a tremendous amount of other information. Designed for flexibility, up to 1200 items can be stored within a student record for each test…

To examine learning disabled children's intrinsic-extrinsic motivational orientation to their schoolwork, 90 LD students in grades 3-7 were administered the Scale of Instrinsic vs. Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom and the Perceived Competence Scale for Children. Items were read to the students and a short interview based on the students'…