The six editions of the newsletter provide a forum for the sharing of research findings and instructional strategies by faculty of Western Michigan University. Topics addressed include: active learning; lecture variations; lecture techniques; grading student participation; leading discussions; overcoming silence; discussion challenges; course…

A standard-setting procedure was developed for the Georgia Teacher Certification Testing Program as tests in 30 teaching fields were revised. A list of important characteristics of a standard-setting procedure was derived, drawing on the work of R. A. Berk (1986). The best method was found to be a highly formalized judgmental, empirical Angoff…

The Prevocational Assessment Screen (PAS) is designed to provide instructors or evaluators with a quick (50 minutes to score and administer) and simple (requiring no training to administer) method of screening mildly handicapped and disadvantaged youth between 14 and 21 years of age for job training and placement. PAS contains eight samples which…

This report describes technical plans and progress during the second year (Fiscal Year 1984) of work on the U.S. Army's Project A: "Improving the Selection, Classification, and Utilization of Army Enlisted Personnel." Project A is a long-range research program developed by the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social…

This report explores an approach to item development and psychometric modeling which explicitly incorporates knowledge about the mental models used by examinees in the solution of items into a psychometric model that characterize performances on a test, as well as incorporating that knowledge into the item development process. The paper focuses on…

Specific questions addressed in this study include how time limits affect a test's construct and predictive validities, how time limits affect an examinee's time allocation and test performance, and whether the assumption about how examinees answer items is valid. Interactions involving an examinee's sex and age are studied. Two parallel forms of…

The value of statistical research depends on valid comparisons which can usefully influence educational policy. Educational research needs to extend the measures of learning (such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress) through nationally-calibrated absolute measures and through computer-assisted and adaptive testing. Direct sampling…

The processing of incoming psychological information along the network, or schemata, of self-knowledge was studied to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of the patterns of schemata-specific response latencies. Fifty-three female and 52 male university students completed the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI). BPI scales assess…

Limitations seen in traditional educational procedures are discussed, and three new directions are suggested as being important emphases for testing. A new perception of measurement in which children have positions along particular concept dimensions or "lines" is discussed in terms of traditional testing notions including variables, item banks…

The feasibility of creating an item bank from a teacher-made test was examined in two comparable sections of a graduate-level introductory measurement course. The 67-item midterm examination contained multiple-choice and master matching items, which required higher level cognitive processes such as application and analysis. The feasibility of…

A live tailored achievement testing study was conducted to compare procedures based on the one- and three-parameter logistic models. Previous studies yielded inconclusive results because of the procedures by which item calibrations were linked and because of the item selection procedures. Using improved procedures, 83 college students were tested…

The potential usefulness of computerized tests for supplementing paper-and-pencil measures for predicting job performance abilities was the objective of a series of studies. This report covers the initial test development and analysis research. Eight computerized tests were constructed to measure five personal attributes identified in previous…

Presents findings from a literature review on interactive videodisc technology, interactive videodisc-based training, computer-assisted instruction, and their translations into effective instructional applications. Issues in educational development and application, guidelines for using graphics and other video effects, instructor and student…

During the past few years, several Harvard paper surveys were converted to Web surveys. These were high-profile surveys endorsed by the Provost and the Dean of the College, and covered major portions of the university population (all undergraduates, all graduate students, tenured and non-tenured faculty). When planning for these surveys started in…

This report updates and summarizes what is known from research on the effects of test accommodations for students with disabilities and also provides direction to the design of critically needed future research on accommodations. A review was conducted of 46 empirical research studies on accommodations published from 1999 through 2001. The…