A study examined the use of cloze procedure as a measure of learning from content instruction. Subjects were 35 physician assistant (PA) students in a cancer prevention course and 31 education students (ED) enrolled in reading instruction courses. Cloze passages were constructed from published selections on the reading process and occupationally…

This paper summarizes an investigation of applications and issues in free response (FR) testing during 1989. It draws on ideas from the results of the National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS:88) field test, a seminar series at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), working papers prepared for several FR testing applications, and…

To help teachers develop an awareness of how they structure a discussion, an instrument was constructed called the Assessment of Classroom Interaction Dynamics (ACID). Two expert judges and 26 trainees then participated in a study (1) to estimate interrater reliability between expert judges in the use of the ACID, (2) to assess the validity of the…

The role of different types of testing instruments in second language programs is discussed. Knowledge-based tests, including discrete-point and integrative tests are contrasted with direct tests, including the Foreign Service Institute Scale and the Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ASLPR). The ASLPR is described in detail in terms…

A study was undertaken to (1) examine the development and construction of a Group Informal Reading Inventory to predict the reading comprehension levels (independent, instructional, and frustration) of junior high school bilingual students for the purpose of reading instruction; and (2) validate the inventory through a three-way correlational…

The four main approaches to measuring treatment effects in schools; raw gain, residual gain, covariance, and true scores; were compared. A simulation study showed true score analysis produced a large number of Type-I errors. When corrected for this error, this method showed the least power of the four. This outcome was clearly the result of the…

Twenty-four high schools in 18 Georgia school systems were selected to participate in a project to check the potential validity, reliability, usefulness, and costs of several direct and indirect measures of writing: holistic, analytic, primary trait, writing mechanics (error counts), and indirect measures (objective multiple choice items). Another…

In order to determine if Rasch Model procedures have any utility for equating pre-existing tests, this study reanalyzed the data from the equating phase of the Anchor Test Study which used a variety of equipercentile and linear model methods. The tests involved included seven reading test batteries, each having from one to three levels and two…

Examines the performance of ethnic minority students on Rubin's CCAI, with a view toward discovering potential cultural biases embedded in the instrument. Concludes that such biases appear to exist. (MS)

This study compared retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse as assessed by two measures: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which uses a Likert-type scaling approach, and the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), which employs a behaviorally specific means of assessment. Participants included 1,195…

Translation testing methodology has been criticized for its subjective character. No real strides have so far been made in developing an objective translation test. In this paper, certain detailed procedures including various phases of pretesting have been performed to achieve objectivity and scorability in translation testing methodology. In…

This study investigates the extent to which beginning to advanced students of English as a second language (ESL) understand antecedent/anaphora relationships in written discourse. The findings are related to previous research on anaphoric reference in first and second language contexts, emphasizing the significance of this factor in measurement of…

A study investigated the validity of an English listening skills test by comparing the results of native American and British English speakers with those of Dutch students of English as a second language. A hypothesis suggested that two-thirds of the items would test listening skills and the remaining third would test other knowledge. Test results…

A study was conducted to determine if a teacher-constructed cloze procedure correlated significantly with two standardized tests of reading achievement, thereby testing G.D. Spache's claim that most teachers are unable to design valid and reliable assessment materials. Subjects were 60 fourth and sixth grade students who were administered the…

This interim report re-examines data on instrument suitability, comparability of groups, and adequacy of sample size in Year III of the process evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC) and offers preliminary recommendations concerning the feasibility of continuing the impact study. PDC is a Head Start demonstration program aimed at…