In a study of questioning formats, children and adults answered spelling questions in an open-ended condition or one of two close-ended conditions where options were likely or unlikely. Participants presented with unlikely-response options generated their own responses more often than participants presented with likely-response options. Children…

The alternate-forms reliability of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) (A. Fisher, 1997), where alternate forms means different pairs of AMPS tasks, was studied with 91 people who had performed four AMPS tasks. Results support use of the AMPS activities of daily-living motor and process scales. (SLD)

College agriculture students who took pencil-and-paper tests scored significantly higher than those taking electronic versions of the tests. Those with a field independent learning style scored significantly higher than field-dependent students, had lower computer anxiety, and enjoyed using computers more. (SK)

Considers the way in which games can be woven into the curriculum to help pupils practice their mental skills in a situation quite different from the traditional mental test and in a way which reduces the pressures felt by pupils. (ASK)

Data from 45 studies involving 9,149 people were used to develop a short form of the Spanish version of the Nottingham Health Profile through Rasch analysis. Results confirmed the validity of using the developed 22-item short form to measure different groups of people categorized by gender, clinical, and health status. (SLD)

Discusses the basic concepts of testing and item development and the application of alternative assessments to information literacy content for library instruction. Topics include reliability; validity; statistical analysis; selected response, including checklists, rank order, or simple match; constructed response; essays; and complex assessments.…

Using 308 patients referred for neuropsychological evaluation, 2 regression equations were developed to predict weighted raw score sums for General Memory and Delayed Recall using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) analogs of 5 subtests from the original WMS. The equations may help reduce WMS-R administration time. (SLD)

Used the differential functioning of items and tests (DFIT) framework to examine the measurement equivalence of a Spanish translation of the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire using samples of 309 Anglo American college students and other adults, 280 English-speaking Hispanics, and 244 Spanish-speaking college students. Results show…

Evaluated the equivalence of scores and one-parameter logistic model item difficulty estimates obtained from computer-based and paper-and-pencil forms of a licensure examination taken by 418 examinees. There was no effect of either order or mode of administration on the equivalences. (SLD)

Used samples of 142 management and 123 nursing undergraduates to evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the newly developed Form S (short form) of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (G. Watson and E. Glaser, 1964, 1994). Results provide only limited support for Form S, and further refinement is suggested. (SLD)

To test preschoolers' ability to flexibly switch between abstract rules differing in difficulty, ninety-three 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds were instructed to switch from an (easier) shape-sorting to a (harder) function-sorting rule, or vice versa. Children learned one rule, sorted four test sets, then learned the other rule, and sorted four more sets.…

Recent articles in this journal (Foot 1999; Saville and Hargreaves 1999) have focused on the advantages and disadvantages of the paired format of the Cambridge Speaking Tests. This article aims to contribute to the debate by considering how the pairing of candidates may impact upon the language sample produced and could affect the assessment…

Spurred in part by University of California (UC) President Richard Atkinson's February 2001 proposal to drop the SAT I for UC applicants, more attention is being paid to other tests such as the SAT II and ACT. Proponents of these alternative exams argue that the SAT I is primarily an aptitude test measuring some vague concept of "inherent…

This article uses the work of two students to illustrate the need to consider changing the format of test items or making language adjustments to increase the validity of the test items as measures of the mathematics that students know.

"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…