This article reviews the "Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition" (WIAT-III), a newly updated individual measure of academic achievement for students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 (age 4 years, 0 months to 19 years, 11 months). Suitable for use in educational, clinical, and research settings, the stated purposes of the WIAT-III…

The article contrasts North American and Soviet views and approaches to student evaluations, especially in the area of testing differences in academic achievement. It provides a brief summary of Soviet schooling and evaluative procedures. (Author/SB)

The use of psychological and educational tests in World War I led to their adoption in schools for testing intelligence and achievement in order to classify students academically according to a national norm. After World War II, rapid changes in occupational and social structure demanded the education and identification of students for employment.…

The objectives of the "Mental Measurements Yearbooks" (MMY), published in seven volumes since 1938, have been to provide information about tests published as separates throughout the English speaking world and to present frankly critical test reviews. This monograph, reflecting the changing state of the art over 50 years of English testing,…

Spells out the court-imposed limitations on the various kinds of tests commonly used in the public schools. (Author/IRT)

A comparison of reading subtests of the Wide Range Achievement Test, Peabody Individual Achievement Test, and Slosson Oral Reading Test showed a high correlation between the WRAT and PIAT. Suggests the WRAT and PIAT measure the same dimension of reading achievement, possibly verbal fluency. (Author/JAC)

To ensure that every child receives appropriate educational and developmental support, professionals who make referrals and who rely on psychological test results need to understand what these tests measure. The principles behind psychological testing, the definitions of key terminology, and the ways in which psychologists interpret test data are…

New psychological and educational tests designed for more valid assessment of handicapped children are described and evaluated. The instruments reviewed include the Diagnostic Spelling Potential Test, Language Inventory for Teachers, Test of Language Development: Primary, Neuropsychological Questionnaire, Nonverbal Test of Cognitive Skills, and…

Translating psychological tests and attitude scales from one language and culture for use in others has been common in the history of educational and psychological assessment. Despite the long history, methods for conducting test and attitude scale translations and establishing equivalence of the multiple versions of an instrument are not…

A mail survey about the use of instruments in 9 assessment areas was answered by 389 school psychologists. Comparison with a similar survey 10 years earlier suggests no decline in assessment overall, although emphasis is switching away from intelligence testing, toward achievement testing, behavior rating, and adaptive measurements. (SLD)

Despite its reputation for being a scientific and precise tool for measurement, psychological testing is a culturally biased procedure that results in discrimination against minority groups, particularly against minority students. Academic achievement and intelligence tests, the two types of tests most frequently used in public schools, assume…

An ideal assessment of hearing-impaired children includes: case history; medical examination; tests (of intelligence, personality, achievement, communication/language skills, and aptitude); neuropsychological assessment to identify learning strengths and weaknesses; and multidisciplinary team staffing and parent-teacher conferences. Twenty-eight…

Data from the grade 8 and grade 10 science tests of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) were used to demonstrate that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using psychologically meaningful subscores in national surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. (SLD)

This study demonstrates that the validity and usefulness of mathematics achievement tests can be improved by defining psychologically meaningful subscores that yield differential relations with student, teacher, and school variables. The eighth- and tenth-grade mathematics tests from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) were…

Since 1941, this book has been a standard textbook in educational measurement. As in the previous editions, the selection and treatment of topics were guided by the knowledge and skills that are necessary for the development of valid evaluation measures and the knowledge and competencies needed to interpret teacher-made and standardized tests.…