This study investigates meaning-making processes in language and literacy assessments. Using a social semiotic perspective, it examines how adult second language learners with emerging literacy self-articulate their understanding of multimodal elements and components utilized in low-stakes assessments, and the strategies they use to make meaning…

An approach is described for the characterization of test questions in terms of the information in a passage relevant to answering them and the nature of the relationship of this information to the questions. The approach offers several advantages over previous algorithms for the production of test items. (Author/GDC)

A comprehensive review is given of evidence, with a bearing on the recommendation to avoid use of complex multiple choice (CMC) items. Avoiding Type K items (four primary responses and five secondary choices) seems warranted, but evidence against CMC in general is less clear. (SLD)

One hundred seventh and tenth grade tests across several content areas were examined for the presence of six types of test-wiseness cues. Approximately 75 percent of teacher-made and publisher-provided tests contained one or more cued items. The most frequent type of cue was length of option, followed by specific determiners. (Author/JDD)

The cognitive approach to education and instruction is discussed, with a focus upon achievement test question processing. A model of multiple-choice processing is discussed and used to develop a proposed model of recall processing. Each model is tested by the means of investigating the use of retrieval cues in processing each type of question. The…