Assessed predictive validity of telephone version of Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test in couples (N=120) who varied in marital happiness, social class, and other demographic characteristics. Found Locke-Wallace scores predictive of husband/wife marital adjustment scores and distressed/nondistressed marital status. (Author/CM)

This booklet contains the Writing Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Framework describes the basis for the 1998 Writing Assessment, the types of writing assessed, and the methods for scoring student responses. This Framework was developed during 1989-90 in preparation for the 1992 NAEP Writing…

Based on seven years of surveying students, parents, and educators, the following conclusions were reached: (1) preliminary telephoning of graduates to verify addresses did not produce higher returns from those contacted; (2) cover letters printed on more expensive colored-letterhead stationary did not produce a higher return rate than the same…

Instructors can use both "multiple-choice" (MC) and "constructed response" (CR) questions (such as short answer, essay, or problem-solving questions) to evaluate student understanding of course materials and principles. This article begins by discussing the advantages and concerns of using these alternate test formats and…

Offers guidelines for designing computer-based testing which demands high-level cognitive functioning of students using computer-assisted instruction as a learning mode. Examples of conceptual, principle, and procedural learning evaluation approaches, strengths and weaknesses within the formats described, and suggestions for improving the…

In international large-scale surveys, constructed response (CR) items are increasingly being used and multiple-choice (MC) items are being used less frequently. In this article the two item types will be compared in terms of any differences they have on national mean scores. TIMSS 1995 and TIMSS 1999 data have been used. Are there different…

A dozen different approaches that yield 13 reliability indices for criterion-referenced tests were identified and grouped into three categories: threshold loss function, squared-error loss function, and domain score estimation. Indices were evaluated within each category. (Author/RL)

The utility of using the Keane Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale as an instrument separate from the full MMPI was evaluated. Results with 175 African American and white male veterans support use of the scale as an alternative to the full test. (SLD)

The alternate-forms reliability of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) (A. Fisher, 1997), where alternate forms means different pairs of AMPS tasks, was studied with 91 people who had performed four AMPS tasks. Results support use of the AMPS activities of daily-living motor and process scales. (SLD)

Discusses the basic concepts of testing and item development and the application of alternative assessments to information literacy content for library instruction. Topics include reliability; validity; statistical analysis; selected response, including checklists, rank order, or simple match; constructed response; essays; and complex assessments.…

"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…

A study examined state-mandated literature assessment procedures and undertook a content analysis of tests produced by proprietary testing companies and textbook producers in order to ascertain how literature achievement is assessed in the United States. Results indicated that 61% of the school systems assess literature as part of an assessment of…

This handbook was developed for use by individuals with limited experience in performing good survey-based research. The essential procedures in the preparation of a survey are outlined and discussed. The method of survey construction proposed consists of several tasks: (1) survey objectives and research questions are specified; (2) literature is…

Differences between the academic (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and government (Foreign Service Institute) versions of the oral proficiency interview test are examined, and data from two studies of interrater reliability are presented and discussed. (MSE)

A 14-item instrument, the Dentist Satisfaction Survey-14, a form of a previously validated instrument, is described. Use with 522 dentists, and 29 in a follow-up, indicates that the short form is a parsimonious tool for general evaluation of dentists' job satisfaction. (SLD)