Test input has often been taken as a given in test design practice. Nearly all guides for test designers provide extensive coverage of how to design test items but pay little attention to test input. This paper presents the case that test input plays a crucial role in designing tests of soft skills that have rarely been assessed in existing tests.…

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool that measures critical thinking skills of university students. Pamukkale Critical Thinking Skills Scale was developed as two separate forms; multiple choice and open-ended. The validity and reliability studies of the multiple-choice form were constructed on two different…

Introductory physics lab instruction is undergoing a transformation, with increasing emphasis on developing experimentation and critical thinking skills. These changes present a need for standardized assessment instruments to determine the degree to which students develop these skills through instructional labs. In this article, we present the…

This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the Arabic version of Sherouk's Critical Thinking Test. This test has four parts, each of which provides a story that is divided into an introduction and a scene; each story is then followed by a list of sensitive questions featuring two response options…

The selection and interpretation of individually administered norm-referenced cognitive tests that are administered to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students continue to be an important consideration within the psychoeducational assessment process. Understanding test directions during the assessment of cognitive abilities is…

"Scientific argumentation," defined as the ability to develop and analyze scientific claims, support claims with evidence from investigations of the natural world, and explain and evaluate the reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim, is a critical component of current science standards and is consistent with "Common Core…

Multiple-choice questions are widely used in higher education and have some important advantages over constructed-response test questions. It seems, however, that many teachers underestimate the value of multiple-choice questions, believing them to be useful only for assessing how well students can memorize information, but not for assessing…

The concept of students' cognitive preferences was analyzed considering empirical findings with cognitive preference tests. Cognitive preferences were identified as the modes of attending to the course subject matter: memory of specific facts, practical application, critical questioning of information, and identification of a fundamental…

Whether in the science or language laboratory, carrying out health care procedures or demonstrating performance arts, faculty can improve skill evaluation through transparency and authenticity in exam construction, format, and grading.

The history of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Factor Kits is summarized. The original ETS Factor Kit was developed in 1954 and contained 51 items, three each for each of 15 factors and six for a 16th factor. The next edition was developed in 1963 and included adaptations (clones) of the defining tests instead of the exact copies. These…

A divergent thinking (DT) test format, scored for flexible and original thinking, is presented. The DT test format, designed to assess teacher competencies and estimate the transfer of competencies to new situations, was administered to graduate students enrolled in a testing course. The DT format allowed students to list phrases and sentence…

This individualized learning package on test item construction as a component of evaluation is designed for the undergraduate student in teacher education programs. The hierarchy of learning levels on which the package rests is that of B. Bloom's (1956) taxonomy of learning. The premises are that higher order learning is significant and desirable…