Despite the substantial expansion in vocabulary research since the 1980s, we still know very little about how vocabulary develops over time and what factors influence this development. This methodological overview discusses key issues and considerations in vocabulary breadth growth assessment to help advance research in this area. The report…

Assessments are a way for stakeholders in education to understand what students know and can do. They can take many forms, including but not limited to paper and pencil or computer-adaptive formats. However, assessments do not have to be tests in the traditional sense at all; rather, they can be carried out through teacher observations of students…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an integral measure of academic progress over time. It is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what our nation's students know and can do in various subjects such as civics, mathematics, reading, science, technology and engineering literacy, U.S. history, and…

When student affairs professionals assess their work, they often employ some type of survey. The use of surveys stems from a desire to objectively measure outcomes, a demand from someone else (e.g., supervisor, accreditation committee) for data, or the feeling that numbers can provide an aura of competence. Although surveys are effective tools for…

This paper illustrates that the psychometric properties of scores and scales that are used with mixed-format educational tests can impact the use and interpretation of the scores that are reported to examinees. Psychometric properties that include reliability and conditional standard errors of measurement are considered in this paper. The focus is…

Testing and data integrity on statewide assessments is defined as the establishment of a comprehensive set of policies and procedures for: (1) the proper preparation of students; (2) the management and administration of the test(s) that will lead to accurate and appropriate reporting of assessment results; and (3) maintaining the security of…

Addresses the four questions raised by Yelon about use of pretests with instruction--should I pretest; on what should I pretest; how should I pretest; how should I adjust to results--and answers them from the perspective of instructional designers conducting formative evaluations to improve quality of instruction under development. (MBR)

Ten different methods of using computer administered tests in college level biology are described: evaluation (or posttest), student self-evaluation, student self-remediation, class remediation, individual student remediation, pretesting, identification of problem areas, immediate feedback, group testing, and remote site testing. (Author/MBR)

The Student-Problem (S-P) methodology is described using an example of 24 students on a test of 44 items. Information based on the students' test score and the modified caution index is put to diagnostic use. A modification of the S-P methodology is applied to domain-referenced testing. (Author/CM)

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill medical school uses an objective structured clinical examination as the final exam in physical diagnosis. Since 1987, students and evaluators have shown overwhelming acceptance and support of the test, partly because it is structured for teaching as well as assessment. (Author/MSE)

Describes a project at Chorleywood College (England) which examined the possibility of automating the transcription of braille examination responses for marking by examination boards. Discussion covers the braille code, requirements of the transcription system, an analysis of mock examination papers which led to system modification, and the final…

Procedures for evaluating differential item functioning (DIF) are commonly used to investigate the statistical equivalence of items that are translated from one language to another. However, the methodology developed for detecting DIF is designed to evaluate the functioning of the same items administered to two groups. In evaluating the…

Interactive computerized tests accepting unrestricted natural-language input were used to assess knowledge of clinical biophysics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Comparison of responses to open-ended sequential questions and multiple-choice questions on the same material found the two formats test different aspects of competence.…

Each year the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests all 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students in reading and mathematics and one or more subject areas. Because MEAP has lost funding for test development, experienced assessment staff and a volunteer team of local educators and college and university specialists develop, administer, and…

Provides a framework for understanding the concept of validity and how it applies to simulation research. Extant tests of validity are discussed in terms of this framework, and a general schema for testing validity is proposed. (MBR)