The author provides a checklist for educators who are selecting technically adequate tests for identifying and referring students for gifted education services and programs. The checklist includes questions related to how the test was normed, reliability and validity studies as well as questions related to types of scores, administration, and…

This action research project sought to understand how giving students a choice in how to demonstrate mastery of a reading would affect both grades and evaluations of the instructor, given that assessment choice might increase student engagement. We examined the effect of student assessment choice on grades and course evaluations, the two…

College instructors in the United States usually make their own decisions about how to design course exams. Even though summative course exams are well known to be important to student success, we know little about the decision making of instructors when designing course exams. To probe how instructors design exams for introductory biology, we…

The decision of whether to use essay tests or multiple choice tests depends on several qualifiers related to the different characteristics of the tests and the needs of the situation. The most important qualifier involves matching the type of test to the instructional objectives being tested, with multiple choice tests being used to measure a…

These language testing guidelines--grouped according to the five categories of the oral language interview: grammar, comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, and language utilization (communicative competence)--are presented for the language proficiency examiner. Brief guidelines for assessment are given for each of five levels of proficiency,…

Standards for evaluating criterion-referenced tests are presented. Twenty-one standards, grouped in three categories, are discussed. Category one is defined as measurement properties and is comprised of conceptual validity, including description of the domain, test item agreement with objectives, and item representativeness of the objectives; and…

Testing guidelines based on teachers' experience and on a review of literature concerning approaches to the testing of oral second language skills, are presented in this paper. Considerations in developing the test included coordination with the syllabus, choice of format, grading, and administration. Suggestions are offered from the practices of…

Designed to provide information about the Vocational Career Assessment Instruments Collection maintained at the New Jersey Occupational/Consumer Resource Center, this handbook contains a complete listing of the instruments in the test collection, a descriptive summary information sheet for each test, a list of test publisher information, and a…

Suggests that the current tests for writers form a paradigm for how other liberal studies faculties can shape assessment programs that reflect the important tenets of their disciplines, because these tests have grown from sound academic principles, rather than from the expediencies of budget offices, campus testing services, or legislative…