The effect on examinee performance of the rule that multiple-choice (MC) test items require the acceptance of 1 choice was examined for 106 dental students presented with choices in MC and multiple true-false formats. MC items force examinees to select one choice, which causes artificial acceptance of correct/incorrect choices. (SLD)

Testing has almost completely lost its identity as a device to increase access to college for the underprivileged. Testing today is seen as a device to deny access. Intelligence is randomly distributed among the rich and the poor, and testing helps remove privilege as a guarantee of success and advancement. (MLW)

Discusses the problems associated with the assessment of art and design. Identifies criterion-referenced assessment practices within the British General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) program as central to the development of a system of examination which is more fair to participants. (KO)

Four articles on computer-assisted testing in schools at local and state levels are reviewed. Trends in the application of and limitations/advantages of microcomputerized testing packages are described. (SLD)

Describes study that investigated the effects of computerized test administration on undergraduates' responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and discusses methodological considerations important in evaluating the sensitivity of personality inventories in different administration formats. Results analyze the effects of…

If annual performance assessments are to yield results that can be compared from year to year, many technical problems must be addressed. It is essential that tests to be equated measure the same construct. Methods of equating performance assessment scores, ways of equating system assessments, and standard setting are discussed. (SLD)

Using S. J. Messick's theoretical work concerning construct validity as a guide, underlying hypotheses for investigation when validating placement test decisions are assessed. Guidelines on validating placement decisions are offered, and the hypotheses and guidelines are applied in a validation study of the Written English Expression Placement…

Individual differences in performance on 4 computer-controlled visual memory and recognition tasks as a function of performance on 5 paper-and-pencil spatial tests were studied for 90 psychology students attending the University of Rennes (France). Results show that spatial thinking is partially supported by visual memory. (SLD)

A developed computer-administered form of the Hamilton Anxiety Scale and the clinician form of the instrument were administered to 214 psychiatric outpatients and 78 community adults. Results support the reliability and validity of the computer-administered version as an alternative to the clinician-administered version. (SLD)

This review employs a conceptual framework that distinguishes methods of detecting measurement bias based on either observed or unobserved conditional invariance models. The primary interest is in group-level measurement bias. Methods for bias detection in both continuous and ordered-categorical measures are reviewed, as are methods for testlets…

Two studies involving 274 Air Force recruits and 163 college students, respectively, investigated the relationship between priming effects and declarative knowledge acquisition within repetitive practice models. Individual differences in repetition-priming effects uniquely predicted learning differences relative to other cognitive measures.…

The five chapters of this report provide resources that deal with the validity, generalizability, comparability, performance standards, and fairness, equity, and bias of performance assessments. The book is written for experienced educational measurement practitioners, although an extensive familiarity with performance assessment is not required.…

Purpose of mini-series is to present current conceptualizations of the structure of intelligence, new research on human cognitive abilities and their interpretations, and pertinent, practical considerations regarding the use of intelligence tests in schools. Discusses educational-policy issues as well as diagnostic and treatment-utility issues.…

A survey of the attitudes and practices of 420 college faculty toward providing teaching and examination accommodations for students with learning disabilities found greater willingness to provide teaching than examination accommodations. Faculty was most willing to allow students to tape-record lectures and least willing to provide supplementary…

Summarizes recent developments in the use of technology in schools and state-level testing programs. Presents results of two studies, one with 114 students and one with about 200 students, that indicate that written tests administered on paper underestimate the achievement of students accustomed to working with computers. (SLD)