Measures of anxiety and achievement were obtained on a sample of undergraduate students. Highly anxious students had lower achievement on humorous tests. Students with low anxiety had higher achievement on humorous tests. Results indicate that humor is not a positive factor in reducing high anxiety associated with academic evaluations. (Author)

The Selected Marker Tests were examined for scoring problems and internal consistency and were administered orally to sixth and seventh graders. Scoring problems were discovered and changes were suggested. The problem was found to be item reliability rather than interrater reliability. (Author/MH)

Two exam questions are presented with explanations of the acceptable solutions. The first deals with hybridization and the second with empirical formulas. (SA)

Analysis of performance data of American Indian children on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) confirms prior results regarding the verbal and perceptual motor skills of that population. Because so many items did not contribute significantly to the total test variance, clinicians should interpret test results with caution.…

Five-year-olds were found to give more conserving responses to small number versions than to a large number version of a test of identity conservation. Superiority of performance with small number versions was reduced but not eliminated when the opportunity to requantify was removed. (Author/SJL)

The reliability of scores from four forms of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was estimated using a hybrid item response theory model. It was found that there was very little difference between overall reliability when the testlet items were assumed to be independent and when their dependence was modeled. (Author/SLD)

When the network-flow algorithm (NFA) and the average growth approximation algorithm (AGAA) were used for automated test assembly with American College Test and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery item banks, results indicate that reasonable error in item parameters is not harmful for test assembly using NFA or AGAA. (SLD)

Studied the process structure of guilt with an adaptation of the Model with Internal Restrictions on Item Difficulty (R. Butter and others, 1998) administered to 270 high school students. Findings show that this kind of modeling is appropriate to investigate the structure of other emotions. (SLD)

Summarizes the current state of the art in test construction and contrasts it with previous conceptual models, some of which are wrong or misleading. New methodologies for item selection and review are presented, with current thinking on the specification of technical characteristics of tests. (Author/SLD)

The authors of the "Guidelines," a task force of eight, intend to present an organized list of features to be considered in reporting or evaluating computerized-adaptive assessments. Apart from a few weaknesses, the book is a useful and complete document that will be very helpful to test developers. (SLD)

Describes a statistical method for evaluating the translation equivalence of language test items that are scored dichotomously. Provides an illustration of the method to a portion of the verbal subtest of the Psychometric Entrance Test, which is a large-scale postsecondary admissions test used in Israel. (VWL)

Studied the impact of changes in item difficulty on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) estimates over time through a Monte Carlo study that simulated the responses of 1990 NAEP mathematics respondents to 1990 and 1996 NAEP mathematics items. Results support the idea that these changes have not affected the NAEP trend line.…

Extended work in comparing item fit statistics and principal component analysis as tools for assessing the unidimensionality requirements of Rasch models and demonstrated methods to explore how violations of the unidimensionality requirement influence person measurement through 2 studies involving simulated rating scale data and responses to a…

Explains the importance of problem solving and critical thinking for scientific literacy and discusses assessment strategies to evaluate student problem solving. (YDS)

Results are reported from a study that investigated the correspondence between two methods used to assess differential item functioning (test item bias). The study also explored the influence of sample size on the two procedures. Although agreement between the two procedures was generally good, the Rasch procedure was more reliable. (IAH)