Authentic assessment encompasses methods of evaluating what students know and can do, acknowledging that children learn best when they are actively involved and receive feedback. Criteria for judging authentic assessments include determining their consequences and noting whether they are cost-effective, meaningful, fair, and generalizable, with…

A review of five recent studies concludes that on multiple-choice tests, changing uncertain answers improves results; testing plus feedback produces more learning than additional study time; students learn and retain more when they are tested more often; and question and completion formats are equally acceptable for multiple-choice items. (KS)

Responds to letters to the editor regarding comments on semantics, psychometrics, and assessment reform regarding authentic assessment of student academic achievements. Suggests that psychometric concerns need to be addressed. (MMU)

Describes the development and evaluation of a placement test used as a major determinant of eligibility to enroll in first-semester general chemistry at California State University, Fullerton. Contains 17 references. (WRM)

Provides guidelines that trainers can use to make fair judgments in grading subjective essay examinations. Highlights include establishing criteria for scoring; clarifying lesson objectives; dividing each question into smaller components with weighted points for each section; developing grading guidelines; and the increasing use of computers to…

Classical test theory is founded on the proposition that measurement error, a random latent variable, is a component of the observed score random variable. This article traces the history of the development of classical test theory, beginning in the early 20th century. (SLD)

"America in Black and White: One Nation Indivisible: Race in Modern America," by Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom, has become important in the movement to abolish affirmative action in higher education. Suggests the book seriously misinterprets and misuses evidence to make its case, refuting specific results the book cites related to…

Government agencies administer exams to appraise educators' effectiveness. However, most teachers and administrators are unfamiliar with how such large-scale tests are put together or polished. A profession's adequacy is being judged on the basis of tools that the profession's members don't understand. As such, educators need to have a dose of…

What people mean when they use the phrase "content standard" varies all over the lot. In some states, content standards are little more than category labels describing collections of curricular aims in particular content areas. If a state's content standards are too numerous, then teachers do not know where to aim their instructional efforts. This…

Uses and consequences of educational testing have increased dramatically in recent years. Professional standards to ensure fair treatment of all affected by test results are more important than ever, but standards for developing and using educational tests are only helpful if they are followed. Test developers and users each have a role to play in…

The importance of educational accountability and assessment literacy is recognized as a long-term challenge to the educational system. The complexities in becoming an assessment literate and provide an opportunity to the educators to display their effective learning is discussed.

The Bookmark method for setting standards on educational tests is currently one of the most popular standard-setting methods. However, research to support the method is scarce. In this report, we review the published and unpublished literature on this method as well as some seminal work in the area of evaluating standard-setting studies. Our…

Educational testing and its uses have come under increasing criticism as they are used more and more for decision making--to determine student tracking assignments, college admission, personnel selection, and licensing policies. The papers from this conference, which discussed the major issues in testing, include: (1) Testing: A Parent's Point of…

Recognizing the potential of accountability tests to alter classroom instruction, an overview is provided of the federal government's past influence on educational assessments. The past 50 years has witnessed the function of federally engendered educational assessments shift from monitoring the use of federal funds for programs prescribed for…

This article narrates and interrogates some of the responses of a group of English teachers, and their lecturer, to an assignment in a post-graduate course entitled Language and assessment. The assignment required the teachers to respond to a text in a mode other than writing, and to design the assessment of this representation. Three of their…