The purpose of this experiment was to relate two bodies of research on anxiety: test anxiety, or anxiety proneness specific to the testing situation, and trait-state anxiety. The author hypothesized that state anxiety--anxiety not tied to any particular situation but aroused in "any" situation--should be highly related to test anxiety during a…

Computer assisted tailored testing was used in a study of 163 Civil Service examinees to assess examinee's affective response to the testing setting. Response was summarized as overwhelmingly positive. (Author/JKS)

It is the process of regular exercise that promotes fitness. Concentrating too much on the product by overuse of fitness norms and comparisons between children may mask the real issue and can result in negative experiences for the children most in need of improvement. Key related issues are also raised. (MT)

Some examples of how students read test items are presented. The results of interviews with students who have taken a multiple-choice test indicate that they do not always solve problems on the test the way we think they do. (JP)

The results of this study indicate that the computer testing procedures led to significantly higher levels of state anxiety and less favorable attitudes in comparison to the examiner testing procedures. These negative affective reactions were seen as a function of certain computer testing procedures. (Author)

In 1967 Gough and McGurk proposed a 30 item set of geometric forms and illusions for use in cross-cultural study of cognitive functioning. An Italian survey was therefore initiated to determine the applicability of the series and its validity in specifying age related cognitive levels. The results are discussed. (Author)

Provides background information on the move toward competency testing in composition and the subsequent implications for college writing instructors. Examines problems inherent to developing a comptency based program at the college level and what composition teachers need to be aware of regarding such testing. (HTH)

The present social and political climate is marked by an increasing appreciation of human diversity and of society's need to accommodate such diversity. The social context for testing is thus fundamentally different from that in which standardized testing developed. Testing should now be more concerned with facilitating equal opportunity.…

The reviewed book analyzes many facets of the testing enterprise from a sociocultural perspective, emphasizing the power motive of test givers. Part I on Authenticity Tests discusses the practice of using tests to determine innocence, guilt, and honesty with regard to culturally important behaviors. Part II addresses the use of ability tests for…

Respondents (n=401) to a national survey of general education teachers identified specific testing adaptations seen to be either helpful for students with disabilities or easy to make. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that it was not fair to make testing adaptations only for students with disabilities, whereas one-third indicated that this was…

Develops a conceptual framework that addresses score comparability for performance assessments, adaptive tests, paper-and-pencil tests, and alternate item pools for computerized tests. Outlines testing situation aspects that might threaten score comparability and describes procedures for evaluating the degree of score comparability. Suggests ways…

Multidimensional adaptive testing (MAT) procedures are proposed for the measurement of several latent traits by a single examination. Bayesian latent trait estimation and adaptive item selection are derived. Simulations were conducted to compare the measurement efficiency of MAT with those of unidimensional adaptive testing and random…

The rapid growth of the Internet and intranets supports the infrastructure necessary for computer-based testing (CBT). The parallel growth of sophisticated computer programming and powerful computers offers new possibilities in testing, such as Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), where the responses of the subject dictate the nature of the test…

The merits and hazards of minimum competency testing for the individual student or for student groups are discussed. Types of groups which lend themselves to group application and some important factors in determining the parameters of a group are discussed. Ten critical issues related to minimum competency testing are identified: (1) scope of…