General chemistry tests from the Examinations Institute of the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society have been analyzed to identify factors that may influence how individual test items perform. In this paper, issues of item order (position within a set of items that comprise a test) and answer order (position of correct…

"Naturalization Test Redesign Project: Civics Item Selection Analysis" provides an overview of the development of content items for the U.S. history and government (civics) portion of the redesigned naturalization test. This document also reviews the process used to gather and analyze data from multiple studies to determine which civics…

Achievement tests may be either norm-referenced or criterion-referenced. The norm-referenced test indicates an individual's proficiency level with respect to other individuals. A criterion-referenced test measures an individual's performance with respect to a specific level along the continuum of attainment. Further, an achievement test may be…

A new, more specific language for describing work activities, based upon the duty module (clusters of tasks that tend to go together occupationally and organizationally in meaningful ways) is being designed for the Army. The purpose is to improve communications between resource and requirement planners and program operators. The paper proposes two…

Self-tests may be important in assisting the student to assess his knowledge. In this paper the use of self-tests in biology is discussed and one example is presented. The method used to produce the test is outlined. The type of self-test illustrated is applicable to many subjects. (Author/MA)

Describes validation procedures used with an individually administered test involving a branching program format to assess students level of cognitive achievement in biology. Reports results of comparisons of classes of teachers with BSCS or non-BSCS backgrounds. (AL)

This article describes a device used to array the pieces of the Object Assembly Test, a subscale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children, in exact standardized order in less time than is now needed and without a screen, thus guaranteeing that the subject will have no previous experience with the pieces. (Author/BY)

Single-case designs make available areas not easily studied in group research and make demands on an investigator that are not easily met in clinical situations. Single-case designs appear relatively straightforward, which may foster problems. Best guide for interpretation is recognition of logic of designs and common methodological problems.…

Effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the Peabody Individual Achievement Test mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Items on the math and reading recognition subtests were significantly easier or harder than test placements indicated. (Author)

Criticisms of grading systems are discussed and a variation on the contract system is presented as an alternative. Students select types of assignments they wish to attempt as a "menu" and requirements are stratified according to student skill and experience level. (ND)

Though speaking ability receives priority in FL teaching, grades are given with little attention to it. Tests in current use are examined; a new one is proposed. The individual test is preferred to group tests. Various aspects of the individual oral test are discussed. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Criterion-referenced measurement (CRM) has received increasing attention in regular education. However, it is in education for handicapped children that CRM's flexibility for individualization of both instruction and evaluation become even more fully realized. Research is described on one of the first CRM systems (Individual Achievement Monitoring…

A method for measuring recognition memory (free of distractors) and false recognition was based on the assumption that the subject was "honest." A distractor-free test of word recognition (a single-item test trial in which the 36 targets were presented prior to the 36 distractors) was compared with a traditional target-distractor…

An attempt was made to develop a form of the Stroop Test which could be used in both group and individual settings and serve as a basic form for interested researchers. Group and individual measures differ only in that the group test does not require a spoken response. (Author/BJG)