A symposium focusing on problems in the assessment of foreign or second language learning brought seven applied linguists together to discuss three areas of debate: communicative language testing, testing of English for specific purposes, and general language proficiency assessment. In each of these areas, the participants reviewed selected papers…

Various test validation alternatives available to the small company are presented, along with a series of questions, the purpose of which is to help the small company focus on the type of test validation for which it is best suited. A case study is described to serve as a model. (Author)

This research advances the understanding of how to define, evaluate, and promote e-learning success from an information systems perspective. It introduces the E-Learning Success Model, which posits that the overall success of an e-learning initiative depends on the attainment of success at each of the three stages of e-learning systems…

Argues that there is room for both those tests that focus on stable between-individual gains, and discusses how to evaluate a test along both the psychometric and edumetric dimensions. (Author/JM)

One of the major responsibilities of school psychologists is assessment, one goal of which is to provide services for children who need assistance in meeting the demands of the student role. Mercer (1977) points out that the student role includes two dimensions (social and cognitive), that student success depends upon progress in both dimensions,…

This study tested the validity and reliability of the West Informal Reading Evaluation (WIRE), an unobtrusive screening device that identifies adult learners' reading abilities. Of the 154 students in basic education or high school completion courses who completed one form of WIRE, 123 subjects were administered another reading test that served as…

Five comparisons were made relative to the quality of estimates of ability parameters and item calibrations obtained from the one-parameter and three-parameter logistic models. The results indicate: (1) The three-parameter model fit the test data better in all cases than did the one-parameter model. For simulation data sets, multi-factor data were…

A military research study focused on the cost of on-the-job training (OJT) for enlisted men until they reach the proficiency level of journeyman, with objectives to develop a costing methodology for OJT sufficiently general to be used in almost any occupational specialty in any of the services and to pilot test that methodology and evaluate its…

Examines confusions that result from the use of the words "standardization,""reliability,""objectivity," and "validity" in connection with testing. (IRT)

The consumer of educational tests is not being protected and reforms are badly needed. (JH)