A sample of 150 Japanese English-as-a-Second-Language students at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale was given a reading comprehension test containing three levels of questions: factual, generalization, and inference, to measure comprehension effects at different proficiency strata. The results indicated that there were significant…

The purpose of this monograph is twofold: (1) to describe the advantages and disadvantages of mail questionnaires as survey research instruments, and (2) to provide guidelines for constructing and utilizing mail questionnaires with a view to maximizing response rates and minimizing response biases. Construction of an effective mail questionnaire…

An investigation of the effect on the difficulty value of an item due to position placement within a test was made. Using a 60-item operational test comprised of 5 subtests, 60 items were placed as experimental items on a number of spiralled test forms in three different positions (first, middle, last) within the subtest composed of like items.…

Reports on a study to determine the development of children's understanding of seven properties of the arithmetic mean and to assess the effects of material used in the testing and the medium of presentation. Some differences were found in children's reasoning. No significant differences were found for materials or medium of presentation. (PK)

Describes a project at Chorleywood College (England) which examined the possibility of automating the transcription of braille examination responses for marking by examination boards. Discussion covers the braille code, requirements of the transcription system, an analysis of mock examination papers which led to system modification, and the final…

Investigated the effect on student performance of changes in question structure and sequence on a GCE 0-level multiple-choice chemistry test. One finding noted is that there was virtually no change in test reliability on reducing the number of options (from five to per test item). (JN)

Upon learning that a form of the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress was incorrectly distributed to an unidentified number of high school students along with an answer sheet pregridded with an alternate test form, the Austin Independent School District performed the following research analyses: (1) scored the tests using the key for each…

This paper focuses on item design considerations faced by instructional designers and evaluators when using computer videodisc delivery systems as a means of assessing learner comprehension and competencies. Media characteristics of various interactive computer/videodisc training systems are briefly discussed as well as reasons for using such…

Turner's (1980) visual literacy test for high school students and adults was adapted for use with eighth grade students. The new version was limited to questions dealing with motion media, and a half-hour "M.A.S.H." narrative television program was chosen for the focus on television production techniques and the narrative elements of the…

Discusses issues involved in the construction, validity, and use of tests that evaluate educational progress, especially those that assess higher-order cognitive functioning. Reviews the four articles in this special issue. (FMW)

The Survey of Testing Practices was administered to 470 undergraduate students at Pepperdine University and the Univesity of California Los Angeles. The items concerned testing practices in three or four classes taken the previous term: type of test, test administration, class size, procedures for returning tests, test difficulty, and observed…

A solution to reduce the likelihood of one examinee copying another's answers on large scale tests that require all examinees to answer the same set of questions is to use multiple test forms that differ in terms of item ordering. This study was conducted to determine whether varying the sequence in which blocks of items were presented to…

The Research Services of the National Education Association (NEA) conducted a nationwide teacher opinion poll (TOP) based upon a stratified disproportionate two-state cluster sample of classroom teachers. This research study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the order of presentation of items would make no difference in the conclusions…

To meet the needs of visually-impaired candidates, Educational Testing Service (ETS) has traditionally provided tests in three special formats: large-print, Braille, and cassette. Certain ETS programs permit the use of the candidate's reader or the use of amanuensis, that is, someone who records answers for the candidate. The primary goal of…

Two matched forms of a 50 item grammar test were developed. Twenty items designed to be humorous were included in one form. Inclusion of humorous items did not affect grammar scores on matched humorous/nonhumorous items, nor on commmon post-treatment items. Inclusion did not affect results of anxiety measures. (Author/DWH)