The focus of this conference was on aspects of change in education and testing. Two papers concern the special role of evaluation in new conceptions of instruction and learning. The first involves individually prescribed instruction in elementary school, and second, professional education. Both in the paper on computer-based instruction and in the…

Consideration is given to the degree of congruence between objectives and test items in the evaluation of objective-based testing. An analytic technique that measures congruence is described, and a bibliography is provided. (CK)

Two focus groups of test and measurement experts were held to explore the use of out-of-level testing for students with disabilities. The participants (n=17) included state and federal level assessment personnel, test company employees, and university professors. A content analysis of the narrative results indicated that there was no clear…

The author looks at assessment of learning from an epistemological point of view, considering these questions: Is it possible to claim knowledge that someone has learned something? Can such claims be regarded as objective? Is self-assessment possible? Can all types of learning be assessed? (Author/SJL)

This study demonstrates that multiple matrix sampling procedures can be used to collect assessment data efficiently, unabstrusively, and reliably. (MB)

Computerized Clinical Simulation Testing is an uncued, dynamic, interactive test that permits examinees to simulate the clinical decision-making skills used in the nursing management of client needs. It has the potential for helping boards of nursing to make more valid assessments about who is competent to practice nursing. (JOW)

Describes the Dutch rating system for test quality, which evaluates a test for seven criteria, and analyses the results of test ratings from the past 18 years. Results show a steady increase in test quality in the Netherlands that can be attributed to use of better tests and declining use of tests of less quality after evaluation. (SLD)

Describes the 1997 revision of the Dutch Rating System for Test Quality used by a committee of the Dutch Association of Psychologists. The rating system evaluates test quality on seven criteria using a checklist for each criterion. Comment sections provide additional information, and weighting rules establish the final grades. (SLD)

This article focuses on Louis Guttman's contributions to the classical theory of educational and psychological tests, one of the lesser known of his many contributions to quantitative methods in the social sciences. Guttman's work in this field provided a rigorous mathematical basis for ideas that, for many decades after Spearman's initial work,…

The University entrance examination (PAU) is the most important high-stakes exam in the General educational system in Spain. It has 6 sections of which the Foreign Language one is very relevant to the final score. The English section has had almost not significant changes in the last 20 years despite all the research in language learning and…

This study examined comparability of student scores obtained from computerized and paper-and-pencil formats of the large-scale statewide end-of-course (EOC) examinations in the two subject areas of Algebra and Biology. Evidence in support of comparability of computerized and paper-based tests was sought by examining scale scores, item parameter…

Reasons why there are few incentives for test publishers to make significant innovations in what is tested or how it is tested are given. A brief discussion of research on growth spurts in the brain, hemispheric differences, and other neurological phenomena is followed by a discussion of some conclusions drawn from this work. While skepticism is…

This book provides a comprehensive evaluation of the goals, objectives, and procedures of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Separate chapters discuss NAEP's objectives and organizational development; its division of knowledge into subject areas; the subject-area objectives; exercise development; measurement of background…

In attempting to meet school-board mandates for competency-based testing in composition, educators must devise the most acceptable testing programs they can. This paper describes a design (the Paul Diederich system) for testing students' writing skills, which yields statistically reliable data on individual students, and reports on a New Orleans…

This paper discusses students with disabilities who do not fit into large-scale traditional assessment systems, seeks to clarify what is meant by "gray areas of assessment," delineates the primary issues that surround and contribute to gray areas, and provides suggestions for developing fully inclusive systems. It provides brief case studies of…