Test development is a complicated process that demands examining various factors, one of them being writing items of varying difficulty. It is important to use items of a different range of difficulty to ensure that the test results accurately indicate the test-taker's abilities. Therefore, the factors affecting item difficulty should be defined,…

Closing the achievement gap in public education is a worthy goal that has been included as a top priority in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002). This study analyzed the most salient predictors at the student and school levels to identify their long-term impact on mathematics achievement from the elementary grades to high school. The…

This article outlines shortcomings of currently used university admissions tests and discusses ways in which they could potentially be improved, summarizing two projects designed to enhance college and university admissions. The projects were inspired by the augmented theory of successful intelligence, according to which successful intelligence…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether performance in MI could predict the performance in reading competency. The other objectives were to identify the components of MI which are correlated with the reading test scores, and to determine the relationship between the multiple intelligences and reading proficiency. A descriptive and ex post…

The author found that the GPA at the end of the MBA program is most accurately predicted by the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). MBA GPA is also predicted, though less accurately, by the Scholastic Level Exam, a mathematics test, undergraduate GPA, and previous career progression. If…

This article reports a study on using data mining to predict K-12 students' competence levels on test items related to energy. Data sources are the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1999 TIMSS-Repeat, 2003 Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the National Assessment of Educational…

Reviews issues faced by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools in developing a predictor exam when the exam is designed for U.S.-educated nurses. Describes issues surrounding the administration of a predictive exam internationally. (JOW)

A longitudinal study was conducted to determine how a comprehensive battery of tests administered in kindergarten predicted reading achievement in Grades 1-6. The test variables were reduced to six predictive factors by factor analysis that, combined with the child's sex and the parent's language, had multiple correlations with reading…

Examines practices that encourage false negatives and false positives on licensing and certification tests designed to protect the public. Recommends increasing the amount of testing or raising the required passing score for repeat test takers. (FMW)

There is evidence that standardized test scores are not only valuable predictors of college grades for Black students, but in some instances, particularly for Black males, may be more predictively valid than high school rank or average. (Author)

The utility of intelligence tests for teaching and learning is questionable. These tests and the construct of intelligence have little value in classifying, predicting, and diagnosing the mental competence of Black children. Research may reveal components of mental potential which are more testable. Standardized I.Q. tests should be abandoned. (VM)

A study of 59 deaf children indicates that the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude (HNTLA) have little or no value for predicting the achievement levels of either White or Black deaf children. (Author/EB)

The writing samples of high school and college students were scored using objective indices. The relationships between these indices and the scores earned on a standarized English test were determined. The results support the contention that a standarized test could identify college students who have difficulty writing. (Author)

The correspondence between Medical College Admission Test scores and undergraduate science grades is examined, and the role that medical college selectivity plays in moderating the relationship is explored. Data are from all applicants in the 1981-82 entering class for whom complete information was available. (MSE)

Investigated the efficacy of predicting academic achievement as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test using the factor scores of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised as potential predictors. Results indicated that the freedom from distractibility factor score significantly aided in the prediction of reading and spelling…