The 1999 "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" defines validity as the degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of test scores entailed by proposed uses of tests. Although quite explicit, there are ways in which this definition lacks precision, consistency, and clarity. The history of validity has taught us…

Much of the argument about comparability of examination standards is at cross-purposes; contradictory positions are in fact often both defensible, but they are using the same words to mean different things. To clarify this, two broad conceptualisations of standards can be identified. One sees the standard in the observed phenomena of performance…

Robert Coe has claimed that three broad conceptions of comparability can be identified from the literature: performance, statistical and conventional. Each of these he rejected, in favour of a single, integrated conception which relies upon the notion of a "linking construct" and which he termed "construct comparability".…

Provides a brief historical review of construct validity and discusses the current state of validity theory, emphasizing the role of arguments in validation. Examines the application of an argument-based approach with regard to the distinction between performance-based and theory-based interpretations and the role of consequences in validation.…

Examines testing practices in: (1) the past, in which the traditional paradigm left little room for cognitive psychology principles; (2) the present, in which testing research is enhanced by principles of cognitive psychology; and (3) the future, in which the potential of cognitive psychology should be fully realized through item design.…

Presents an overview of the applications of microcomputer-based assessment and diagnosis for both educational and psychological placement and interventions. Advantages of computer-based assessment (CBA) over paper-based testing practices are described, the history of computer testing is reviewed, and the construct validity of computer-based tests…

Three papers and a sample outline of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) represent the work of the Monitoring and Improving Testing and Evaluation Innovations (MITEI) Project during 1988. The skeleton of a sample RFP outline for large-scale assessment was expanded to provide a checklist of the type of information that should be included in a RFP. The…

Many significant changes in perspective have to take place before efforts to learn the content and capabilities of children's minds can hold much sway in educational testing. The language of testing, especially of high stakes testing, remains firmly in the realm of "behaviors", "performance" and "competency" defined…