Responds to five major articles by Duckworth, Goldman, Healy, Sampson, and Goodyear on issues pertaining to testing and assessment in counseling psychology. Proposes a cooperative research program to extend the conclusions from Goodyear's review, and to test the hypotheses behind the recommendations of Duckworth, Goldman, Healy, and Sampson.…

Presents examples of test bias and test misuse. Discusses FairTest (National Center for Fair and Open Testing) program areas and initiatives at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. Discusses keeping the community informed. (RS)

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 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…

Disadvantages of traditional intelligence tests with handicapped children are discussed, and an alternative approach, The "Assessment of Basic Competencies" (ABC) is presented. The background and design of the ABC and the three domains of the model (language skills, math reasoning skills, and information processing skills) are…

This project had three major goals: (1) To develop a handbook for high school teachers that shows how instruction and testing can work together to foster student learning; (2) To pilot test this handbook in the context of a staff development program for high school teachers; and (3) To prepare training manuals that would allow the staff…

This Research Memo is for test users, teachers, administrators, counselors, curriculum specialists, school board members, and legislators who use tests as a means for improving education. The purpose of this report is to provide general background information about measurement and testing. The information includes discussions of the meaning…

Reviews literature on the use of content validity to establish the job-relatedness of assessment centers. Attempts to show that content validity requires more than the careful construction of stimulus materials, how these stimulus materials are presented to candidates and how responses to these stimuli are evaluated are also critical…

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…

Argues that giving students a reading test that is above or below their levels of achievement will yield inaccurate information. (FL)

Responds to five major articles by Duckworth, Goldman, Healy, Sampson, and Goodyear on issues pertaining to testing and assessment in counseling psychology. Notes that assessment of the person is incomplete unless it includes assessment of environment, and discusses the role of assessment in problem solving. (TE)

A format is suggested for testing using free association techniques. In this system, students are given key words or phrases and asked to relate as much relevant information as they can. Scoring techniques, strengths, and weaknesses of such open-ended approaches are discussed, along with possible suggestions for implementation. (PB)

Surveyed counselors (n=672) about extent to which they incorporate basic principles of good testing practices in work and whether practices are learned in preservice education, in service training, or from reading ethical standards/guidelines. Found that many counselors engaged in good test use practices, adhering to many important test-use…

This paper argues for an expanded conception of test validity, in which teachers, as end-users of tests, contribute a distinctive perspective on validity, referred to as inferential validity. It also offers a methodology that could be adopted in order to subject this dimension of validity to scrutiny. An investigation conducted into the meanings…

The article reviews concerns related to the selection and administration of career interest inventories for handicapped secondary students, discusses utilization of the results within an educational setting and considers the importance of cooperative efforts. Useful instruments for students in grades 9-12 are listed and administration procedures…