Considers how the movement toward inclusive classrooms has enhanced significantly disabled students' opportunities for increased social interaction with their peers and it coincidentally has brought with it learning and achievement challenges for students as well as for their teachers and parents. Finds that the concept of treatment acceptability…

Undergraduate business students completed two multiple-choice tests: one in which they indicated their answer and one of three levels of confidence, and one in which they circled the item only when they possessed high confidence in the answer. The three-level test took longer to take and grade; students preferred the second format. Both types…

Examines linguistic, psychometric, and clinical aspects of the Test for Sentence Development, a subtest of a new Dutch language production battery, the Schlichting Test voor Taalproductie. The advantage of the new test is that very young children can be assessed systematically, which was not possible previously. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that members of the educational measurement community are at least in part responsible for the fact that many U.S. children are receiving a reduced quality education because of the increasing misuse of educational tests. Assessment personnel have failed to speak out against the use of tests to assess school quality. (SLD)

Addresses one of the functions of output proposed by Swain (1993, 1995, 1998). In particular, the activity of producing the target language may, under certain circumstances, prompt second language (L2) learners to recognize some of their linguistic problems and bring to their attention something they need to discover about their L2. (Author/VWL)

Extrapolates from existing case law on educational testing to the likely ways in which school accountability systems may be challenged in the courts. Also offers a list of recommended actions for accountability system developers. (SLD)

Describes common mistakes made by young children taking standardized tests and suggests several teaching strategies that may be useful to teachers who are preparing a class to take standardized tests. Teachers need to be sure they don't add to the pressure of standardized testing by overreacting to small deeds of misbehavior or emphasizing the…

Examines the effects of testing accommodations on the mathematics test scores of a sample of fourth-grade students, which included students with disabilities (SWD) and students without disabilities (SWOD). Primary analyses indicated that SWDs experienced a larger effect in the accommodated condition than did SWODs. The SWDs profited more than…

Describes the adoption of Internet-based testing that measures growth following a study of statewide testing procedures in Idaho. Discusses the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001; comparing paper and pencil tests with computerized testing; measurement techniques; how data from tests is used; and timeliness. (LRW)

Examined the extent to which years of exposure to a language, amount of language input at home and at school, and amount of exposure to reading and other literacy activities in a language relate to observed bilingual performance in young children as obtained from teacher and parent reports. (VWL)

Considers ways to implement the International Guidelines for Test Use (International Test Commission, 2001) to maximize their intended impact . The process calls for customizing the guidelines for specific assessment contexts and needs and using the guidelines to generate competency standards. (SLD)

The authors review both definitional and legal issues associated with testing accommodations and validity issues that confront educators who must make decisions about the use and likely effects of testing accommodations, and they summarize the results of 4 experimental studies they have conducted that examine the statistical effects of…

Discusses the problems and successes encountered in implementing a Web-based registration and administration system for credit-by-examination in a required graduate course, detailing the ways in which this system improves upon its paper-based predecessor. (EV)

Five approaches to writing test items with computer assistance are described. A model of knowledge using a set of structures and a system for implementing the scheme are outlined. The approaches include the author-supplied approach, replacement-set procedures, computer-supplied prototype items, subject-matter mapping, and discourse analysis. (TJH)

The article considers issues of objectivity in regard to evaluating a child's performance on a test. Quantum theory is invoked to illustrate the close relationship of the child's "score" to the specific conditions of the evaluation experience. Educators are encouraged to remember that the score cannot be isolated from the testing experience. (DB)