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)

Second language (L2) computer-adaptive testing (CAT) is a technologically advanced method of assessment in which the computer selects and presents test items to examinees according to the estimated level of the examinee's language ability. The basic notion of an adaptive test is to mimic automatically what a wise examiner would normally do.…

This digest discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using item banks, and it provides useful information for those who are considering implementing an item banking project in their school districts. The primary advantage of item banking is in test development. Using an item response theory method, such as the Rasch model, items from multiple…

Computer-assisted testing (CAT) in counseling and therapy is becoming increasingly common due to dramatic improvements in cost-effectiveness and increased counselor familiarity with computer applications. The assumption underlying the use of CAT is that the effectiveness of counseling is improved by allocating repetitive computational and…

Computerized adaptive tests (CATs) make it possible to estimate the ability of each student during the testing process. The computer presents items to students at the appropriate level, and students take different versions of the same test. Computerized testing increases the flexibility of test management in that: (1) tests are given on demand and…

This report provides an overview of the current applications of computer technology to construct test items and/or to formulate tests according to sound measurement principles. The test items may be computer-generated from strategies programmed by test constructors, or pre-constructed by item writers and stored in computer memory. The tests…

In this report four educators discuss the issues which they see to be most current in the fields of testing, measurement and evaluation. The first section discusses the mastery of basic skills, defined by minimum levels of competence. Factors such as accountability, social policy, instructional implications, and psychometric issues are brought to…

This brief overview notes that an adaptive test differs from standardized achievement tests in that it does not consist of a certain set of items that are administered to a group of examinees. Instead, the test is individualized for each examinee. The items administered to the examinee are selected from a large pool of items on the basis of the…

Three aspects of student assessment are addressed in this collection of essays: accountability issues and the political tensions that they reflect; assessment practices, the use and misuse of testing, and emerging directions; and the impact of assessment. The collection includes: (1) "Expansion, Quality, and Testing in American…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of 10 studies related to one or more aspects of teacher education and 2 studies in a "miscellaneous" category. Analyses in the first section (teacher education) are on studies of: the use of wait-time and its effect on science achievement; teacher competencies; the influence of teacher…