Argues that the Degrees of Reading Power test is not a valid tool for its main purpose, matching students to appropriate texts, because the test's units of text difficulty are not uniformly comparable to the test's units used to reflect a reader's ability. (HOD)

The 15 components used for assessment in an introductory psychology course were examined to determine their relative value as predictors of overall performance. Multiple-choice tests were consistently found to be more effective than essay examinations, but arguments are presented for the retention of essays, with suggestions for their improvement.…

Johns Hopkins University has abandoned use of the Medical College Admission Test as a medical college admissions requirement in an effort to reestablish the validity of humanities in medical students' educational background and is encouraging other medical schools to make the test optional and underscore their support of general education. (MSE)

Investigated the use of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)-Nonverbal Scale with severely hearing impaired children (N=49), using two instructional sets (American sign language (ASL) plus pantomime and gestures, or pantomime and gesture (PG) instructions only). Support is provided for the appropriateness of the K-ABC, for use with…

Specific aptitude clusters from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) are examined to determine their effectiveness in evaluating aptitude-achievement discrepancies. Advantages of the Scholastic Aptitude clusters over the Broad Cognitive Ability clusters are outlined. Major types of discrepancies, rationale, and research on the…

In a confidence weighting situation, the examinee is asked to indicate the correct answer, and how certain he or she is of the correctness of that answer. This paper reviews the bases for confidence marking, its validity and accuracy in evaluating students, and it's use in research. (BW)

A new assessment conception is described that integrates constructed-response testing, artificial intelligence, and model-based measurement. The conception incorporates complex constructed-response items for their potential to increase the validity, instructional utility, and credibility of standardized tests. Artificial intelligence methods are…

This document presents the transcript (and written statements) of a congressional hearing on the potential politicization of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the trustworthiness of the scores that the states received during the 1998 reading assessment. It addresses whether Vice President Al Gore's "release" of…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is now accepted as the nation's report card, but getting there took over 30 years and a convoluted process beset by technical and political issues. After a summary of the history of the NAEP and its successful use as a monitoring instrument, the ramifications of the use of the NAEP as an…

Where human beings are concerned and complex behavior is involved, prediction of future performance is no simple matter. Scientifically developed, systematically standardized and carefully validated tests have emerged as the most reliable tools in predictive efficacy. If opponents of standardized testing win, society will lose. (Author/CM)

Offers opposing views on the value of mass testing in English. (JL)

A computer-administered (CA) form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (A. Tellegen, 1982) was created, and scores of 126 college students were compared to those of 101 who took a paper-and-pencil MPQ. Multivariate analyses found no group differences for the CA format, and likelihood of profile validity was decreased. Results…

The concurrent validity of Spanish versions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 and the Personality Assessment Inventory (L. Morey, 1991) was studied with 105 Hispanic patients using a revised Spanish version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (L. Robins and others, 1981) as the criterion measure. Results suggest that both…

Discusses applications of the Problem Solving Inventory for counseling and managed health care, career and industrial/organizational issues, training, and academic performance. Examines the role of problem solving in psychological health and describes the inventory, how to administer it, and previous research findings. (RJM)

Determines the concurrent and predictive validity of a cloze-based scoring procedure which is sensitive to semantic and syntactic language performance, as well as to the traditional responses to deletion. Finds the scoring procedure possesses acceptable concurrent and predictive validity for a variety of passages and grade levels. (RS)