Hypothetical costs of running a 4-hour objective structured clinical examination for 120 medical students at 1 school are detailed. Costs are reported for four phases: (1) development, (2) production, (3) administration, and (4) postexamination reporting and analysis. High- and low-end estimated costs ranged from $496 to $870 per student. The…

Discusses the issue of gender in relation to England's National Curriculum and associated assessment and testing. The new curriculum is technology based and vocationally oriented. Foresees difficulties in providing gender-equal education unless more attention is given to the differing interests and goals of boys and girls. (DM)

Testing issues and concerns that should receive renewed and increased professional attention are highlighted. These include curriculum concerns, developmental matters; generalizability, content and format considerations, contextualization issues, and technology concerns. (JL)

Presents 2 studies that examined theory of mind: first studied false belief in 3-4 year olds, and second studied second order attribution in 4 year olds. Results indicated that, when the test situation is realistic and actively involves the children, understanding of ignorance and false belief is seen at a younger age than when the traditional…

Discusses the development of phonological awareness skills in early childhood and assessment of phonological awareness abilities. Explains rhyming tests, blending tests, and segmentation tests, along with specific intervention tasks and intervention materials and programs. Urges explicit training in phonological awareness for all children. (CR)

Examines phonemic-awareness ability of reading-disabled children and normally-achieving children in both a traditional design and a pseudoword reading-level-match design. Results show that a group of reading-disabled children who show typical pseudoword reading and phonemic-awareness deficits in the traditional reading-level-match design…

Compared grammaticality judgment (GJ) test data with dehydrated sentence test data, collecting data about verb movement from three levels of adult second-language (L2) Spanish learners. The GJs of L2 learners were consistent, suggesting that a relationship exists between a standard GJ test and a dehydrated sentence test and noting that GJ data are…

Looks at the washback effect in language testing, using as an example the new University of Michigan Examination for Certificate of Competency (ECCE), designed for intermediate- to upper-intermediate level learners. The ECCE can be considered an example of the movement toward achievement-oriented proficiency tests. (Author/VWL)

This study aimed to determine the role of reading-related experience and processing speed on the time it took for children to name familiar stimuli. Children (n=168) were administered measures of global-processing speed, title and author recognition, naming time, and reading ability. Naming times were predicted by age-related change in processing…

Discusses questions related to GED and nonnative English speakers. Specifically, should the test be given at all?; how do others regard it?; how does Spanish test stack up to English equivalent?; and what are advantages and disadvantages once the test is over? Concludes that because demand for the Spanish GED has increased, the GED office has…

Samples 366 students in regular education and special-education settings for students with serious emotional disturbance (SED) rated by teachers using Devereux Behavior Rating Scale-School Form. Total Test standard scores earned by the SED samples were significantly higher than the regular education samples. The rating scale correctly identifies…

Reports on an ESRC-funded study of the levels of knowledge about language of first-year undergraduate student learners of French and the relationship between this metalinguistic knowledge and language proficiency and aptitude. (Author/VWL)

Analyzes gender-uniform differential item functioning (DIF) in a second language vocabulary test with the tools of item response theory to study potential gender impact on the test performance measured by different item composites. Results show that while there are test items with indications of DIF in favor of either females or males, the test as…

Surveys a group of students who enrolled in a first year university mathematics course to study the impacts of graphing calculators on the Western Australian Tertiary Entrance Examination (TEE). Considers the perceptions of students on their use of and preparation to use graphing calculators. (ASK)

Reports the outcomes of two English-as-Foreign-Language assessments for Dutch primary school students with regard to listening, reading, and word knowledge. The assessments have provided important insights into the possibilities and limitations of foreign language teaching and learning. (Author/VWL)