GCSE examinations (taken by students aged 16 years in England) are not intended to be speeded (i.e. to be partly a test of how quickly students can answer questions). However, there has been little research exploring this. The aim of this research was to explore the speededness of past GCSE written examinations, using only the data from scored…

One of the main goals of science education is to make students gain science process skills. Thus, it is significant to measure whether students gain those skills or not. For this purpose, various tests have been produced and used in various studies. This study aims to examine science process skills tests which have been used in the theses produced…

Purpose: With improvements in computer technologies and test implementations in the computer environment, when advantageous points of computer-based test implementations are considered, it is inevitable to compare psychometric characteristics of paper-and-pencil tests and computer-based tests and students' success. In computer-based tests,…

This paper starts with an analysis of the twin purposes of an examination reform programme originally launched in Kenya during the 1970s: first, to broaden the spectrum of cognitive skills being tested; and second, to set up a feedback system based on the performance profiles, providing schools and teachers with guidance as to how pedagogy and…

The validity of results from international assessments depends on the correctness of the test translations. If the tests presented in one language are more or less difficult because of the manner in which they are translated, the validity of any interpretation of the results can be questioned. Many test translation methods exist in the literature,…

The second of three sequels to the booklet "Student Assessment," this booklet begins by describing and giving examples of three different forms that short-answer questions can take: (1) completion items; (2) unique-answer questions; and (3) open short-answer questions. Guidelines are then provided for deciding which type of question to…

Intended to provide a broad introduction to the subject of student assessment, this booklet begins by discussing the role of assessment in any systematic approach to course or curriculum design and explains the difference between assessment and evaluation. Four basic features of a good student assessment procedure are then discussed, i.e.,…

The first of three sequels to the booklet "Student Assessment," this booklet begins by describing and providing examples of four different forms that objective questions can take: (1) conventional multiple choice questions; (2) true/false questions; (3) assertion/reason items; and (4) matching items. Guidance is offered on how to decide which type…

The third of three sequels to the booklet "Student Assessment," this booklet begins by describing and giving examples of three forms that essay-type questions can take: (1) unstructured-essay questions; (2) structured-essay questions; and (3) short-notes questions. Guidelines are then provided for deciding which type of question to use in a given…

Two Toronto community English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs used oral interview tests to place adults in appropriate programs. Instruments used included: Foreign Service Oral Interview; Ilyin Oral Interview; object-oriented testing; group testing; performance in authentic situations; Ontario Test of English as a Second Language; and George…

Student testing in Japan is not effectively used. In many cases test results are used only for ranking and sorting students into whatever the designated purposes of the tests are. They are not focused on monitoring individual student progress. This is an especially inadequate approach for teaching oral communications courses. This paper proposes a…

Premodern Chinese education emphasized an intricate system of examinations used by the government to select its officials from among the "shih" (scholars). A dual tract educational system existed: state and some private schools for examination bound scholars, and private schools for others fortunate enough to receive some education. (MH)