Describes a two-part study involving 14- to 15-year-old high school students in New South Wales (Australia) that compared two modes of responding to free response examination questions: by computer and by pen and paper. Discusses results of analysis of variance. (Author/LRW)

Computer-Aided Selection and Evaluation Psychometric Test is a person-centered approach to helping long-term unemployed young people through a series of interventions aimed at awareness, responsibility, and reenforcement. The program integrates process-and-task and participation-and-trust approaches. (SK)

Extended the use of a beta prior in trait estimation to the maximum expected a posteriori (MAP) method of Bayesian estimation. This new method, essentially unbiased MAP, was compared with MAP, essentially unbiased expected a posteriori, weighted likelihood, and maximum-likelihood estimation methods. The new method significantly reduced bias in…

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)

Proposes a procedure for empirical initialization of the trait (theta) estimator in adaptive testing that is based on the statistical relation between theta and background variables known prior to test administration. Illustrates the procedure for an adaptive version of a test from the Dutch General Aptitude Battery. (SLD)

Two experiments investigated sensory/motor-based functional knowledge of man-made objects: manipulation features associated with the actual usage of objects. In Experiment 1, a series of prime-target pairs was presented auditorily, and participants were asked to make a lexical decision on the target word. Participants made a significantly faster…

When low-stakes assessments are administered, the degree to which examinees give their best effort is often unclear, complicating the validity and interpretation of the resulting test scores. This study introduces a new method, based on item response time, for measuring examinee test-taking effort on computer-based test items. This measure, termed…

This paper reports on the results of a study of English children's performance on a computer mathematics assessment compared with a pencil-and-paper assessment. Two matched samples of children were each assessed on one of two mathematics pencil-and-paper tests and assessed a month later on a cloned computer test. The performance scores were better…

Task completion time was substantially decreased for two middle school students with a diagnosis of moderate mental retardation and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following the presentation of high-preference items and choice via a computer-based video program. The study used an ABAB design to evaluate the effects of the program compared to…

This paper investigates how students' attitude and performance are affected by using an asynchronous learning network (ALN) to augment exams in a traditional lecture/lab course. Students used the ExamNet ALN to create, critique, and revise a database of questions that subsequently was drawn upon for course exams. Overall, students considered…

The advantages and limitations of using computers in writing assessment and instruction are discussed. The English teachers feel that even though computers and computer programs offer huge benefits for the teaching of writing to students, they cannot be used as a substitute for humans in the ultimate evaluation of a composition written by them.

The Internet has significantly changed the way people conduct business, communicate, and live. In this article, the authors' focus is on how the Internet influences the practice of psychology as it relates to testing and assessment. The report includes 5 broad sections: background and context, new problems yet old issues, issues for special…

This paper reviews the concept of high-stakes assessment against a background of postmodernism, and argues that the inaccessibility of cognitive processes is only one part of the problem of reading assessment: even greater challenges are posed by a postmodern analysis, in which an incredulity toward metanarratives leads to a series of six…

Moving visual stimuli have been shown to reduce unilateral neglect (ULN), however, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood. This study compared lateralised and non-lateralised moving visual stimuli to investigate whether the spatial characteristics or general alerting properties of moving visual stimuli are responsible for…

With the proliferation of computers in test delivery today, adaptive testing has become quite popular, especially when examinees must be classified into two categories (passfail, master nonmaster). Several well-established organisations have provided standards and guidelines for the design and evaluation of educational and psychological testing.…