The development of a hypothetical testing program designed to provide optimum information about student achievement is chronicled. Computer adaptive testing and performance testing are postulated as part of the program. What optimum information really means is discussed. Optimum is only optimal when theory and application are balanced. (SLD)

Describes a microcomputer-based program of assessment and instruction in language arts incorporated into the developmental curriculum at four colleges. Discusses the instructional value of assessment. Describes three different implementation modes. Finds a climate for experimentation, a program champion, an implementation team, and organizational…

Santa Fe Community College (Florida) has used computerized adaptive testing with students placed in developmental reading, writing, and mathematics courses. Computerized adaptive testing utilizes the capabilities of microcomputers to adapt examinations to the abilities of individual students, may be less threatening to students, is preferred by…

Describes seven defining characteristics of "authentic" assessment and how they have been operationalized in an interactive multimedia learning environment in preservice teacher education. A study showed students responded favorably to the elements of authentic assessment and had a good understanding of the software's content; this was…

Considers the computerization of an English-language placement test for delivery on the World Wide Web. Describes a pilot study to investigate potential bias against students who lack computer familiarity or have negative attitudes towards technology, and assesses the usefulness of the test as a placement instrument by comparing the accuracy of…

Describes an experiment where 15 adults received a computer presented "Cognitive Styles Analysis" to assess their positions on two cognitive style dimensions: Wholist-Analytic and Verbal-Imagery. The subjects then completed word association and identification tasks while their electroencephalograph readings were monitored. The readings…

Four studies involving a total of 150 college students, a junior high school student, and a high school student are presented that evaluate the validity of the Computer-based Academic Assessment system (CAAS) as a diagnostic technique for identifying specific reading disabilities in college students. Results show that the CAAS meets the criteria…

Investigates the performance of students from different language backgrounds, using data from a computer-adaptive Japanese grammar test developed as a placement tool. Findings indicate item difficulties to be quite different for each group of candidates and imply that when candidates are from a different background from that of the trial…

Assesses the effectiveness of supplementary Web-based materials and activities in traditional introductory college economics courses. Results suggest that faculty should focus more on developing self-test quizzes and effective bulletin board discussion projects as opposed to generating online content related to text or lecture notes. (Author/LRW)

This article describes development of a computer-based alternate assessment system, designed for students with moderate disabilities, which integrates what is known about effective feedback in classroom assessment with requirements for system accountability. The system includes customized computer software and documentation tools that are used to…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This March 26, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Going Over the Falls" (Brady, John N.); (2) "Lessons in Departmental…

Background: To investigate whether recent first episode major depression in adolescence is characterised by selected executive difficulties in attentional flexibility, behavioural inhibition and decision-making. Methods: Selected executive functions were compared in adolescents with recent (past year) first episode major depression (n = 30) and…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) assumes that state-mandated tests provide useful information to school administrators and teachers. However, interviews with administrators and teachers suggest that Minnesota's tests, which are representative of the current generation of state-mandated tests, fail to provide useful information to administrators…

Third and fifth grade children (average age 8.6 and 10.6 years) and adult participants were tested with printed words of varying length in a new on-line identification task (the luminance increment paradigm, LIP) and a speeded naming task. Effects of general length (length in letters, phonemes and syllables) were shown to decrease systematically…

This study investigated a computerized version of the mini-AMTB, a brief form of the Attitude Motivation Test Battery, in CALL. Students in first-year French classes participating in a 10-session independent-study multimedia lab completed the computerized mini-AMTB at the beginning of the fifth and tenth sessions and evaluated their state…