This book explores the practice of testing. Two postulates are assumed: that student assessment should improve performance, rather than just monitoring it, and that testing should be only a small facet of assessment. The first chapter, "Introduction: Assessment and the Morality of Testing," considers what assessment is and how it differs from…

Confusion in the terminology used in criterion-referenced measurement specifications and development and standard setting and the attendant role of cut-off scores are shown to need practical clarification through psychometric research on test applications and consequences. (CM)

A series of studies by the Technical Review Panel (TRP) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to improve the quality and utility of the NAEP is introduced, with a description of the NAEP, the creation of the TRP, the education policy issues that influenced the selection of research topics, and the relationship among the…

The applicability of a Chinese translation of the Students' Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) (H. W. Marsh, 1982 and later) and the generality of findings based on North American research were studied with 844 students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Results support the use of the SEEQ in this Chinese setting. (SLD)

Two meta-analyses, one with 27,973 subjects in 31 studies and one with 34,262 subjects in 141 studies, found that tests of short-term memory are valid predictors of job and training performance and that racial differences are smaller than is usual on cognitive tests. (SLD)

This study is fourth in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using subscores from national surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. It extends the analyses of science achievement data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) through grade 12. (SLD)

An expanded framework for validating tests is needed to include the perspectives of teachers and students as well as of test makers and scientists. The development of educational assessments must take place within an understanding of how tests are used in context. (SLD)

The development of the new fifth edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) is described. The factor structure of the new 16PF was explored with 4 samples ranging from 646 to 3,498 subjects. Results support the validity of the 16PF factor structure and its continuity with earlier versions. (SLD)

In a counterbalanced, within subjects, repeated measures design, 130 undergraduates were administered the Computer-Assisted Hypnosis Scale (CAHS) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale and were hypnotized. The CAHS was shown to be a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring hypnotic ability. (SLD)

A new instrument, the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), was developed. Results from 6 studies with nearly 600 children indicate that the SPAI-C is a reliable and valid measure for childhood social anxiety and fear. It may be useful for improving clinical assessment and documenting treatment outcomes. (SLD)

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), initially developed for undergraduate medical education, has been adapted for assessment of clinical skills in podiatry students. A 12-month pilot study found the test had relatively low levels of reliability, high construct and criterion validity, and good stability of performance over time.…

Penetrates polarized rhetoric to examine four currently debated questions about high-stakes testing. Reframes certain questions: How can we provide instruction enabling students to score well on such tests without narrowing the curriculum? How can we restructure schools to help all children reach high standards? How can assessments be made more…

Because of a congruity of developments in the knowledge base concerning tests, external political factors, and legal factors, responsible use of employment tests could be on the verge of widespread acceptability. However, the possibility also exists that tests will once again become the scapegoat for "bad news." This review of the legal…

A study was conducted to develop a test that is able to capture knowledge of an intuitive nature, such as that acquired through discovery learning. The proposed test format is called the "what-if test." Test items in this format consist of the presentation of a situation. A change in the situation is introduced, and learners have to…

This paper argues that special procedures for constructing assessment tools containing performance assessment tasks are unnecessary and that current test methodology can easily be generalized to complex performance assessment tasks without destroying the desirable characteristics of those tasks. Reasonable statistical requirements for sound…