Across five continents, operant testing schemes are the assessment equivalent of an English jumble sale. Test types, rationales, preparation times, and scoring practices are equally diverse in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Israel, and Japan. Most systems are in flux or under scrutiny. (MLH)

Given the amount of time, energy, and money devoted to provincial achievement exams in Canada, it is disturbing that Alberta students and teachers feel so pressured and that the exams do not accurately reflect what students know. Research shows that intelligence has an (untested) emotional component. (MLH)

Two achievement testing programs in New York City that have had and are having some consequences are described, and how the school system tries to determine and deal with these consequences is explored. Cooperation and open dialog between test publishers and the school district are making it possible to deal with the real-life problems of test…

Describes why and how assessment and accountability can and have become destructive forces. Offers a historical perspective, and examines the crux of the problem: "polluted test scores." Offers examples from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test, and from Chicago's summer school program. Points to directions educators might take…

Concerns about and objections to competency-based assessment in higher education are examined, including superficiality, use of inference, neglect of knowledge and of process, and subjectivity. It is concluded that, although each objection raises an important issue, in each case, a well-designed competency-based assessment system can overcome…

Describes how a group of Texas teacher educators use story to examine their teaching decisions in the face of a test-driven curriculum. Notes that their stories reflect their responses to pressures to create curriculum that imitates the test rather than remaining learner-centered. (SG)

A study investigated the preferences of 158 middle school students with and without disabilities for specific adaptations in general education classroom testing. Open-notes and open-book tests were among the adaptations most preferred. Students with disabilities and/or students with low achievement indicated significantly higher preference than…

By their very nature, grades undermine learning. In schools that constantly emphasize the importance of success, students may regard learning as a chore, avoid challenging tasks, think superficially, and value ability more than effort. Students should be able to think, write, and explore without worrying how good they are. (MLH)

Considers how IQ tests may not be an effective means of identifying English-as-a-second language (ESL) students with learning disabilities due to inherent cultural biases of the tests. Concludes that the use of IQ tests with ESL or English-dialect students is inappropriate when the student's first or primary language is different from the language…

Considers special needs students' interactions with high stakes testing and ways in which teachers try to improve the testing environment. Makes a suggestion for different types of evaluations including a semester-ending project that permits choice and engages students in interdisciplinary lessons. (SG)

Computer-based assessments are becoming more commonplace, perhaps as a necessity for faculty to cope with large class sizes. These tests often occur in large computer testing venues in which test security may be compromised. In an attempt to limit the likelihood of cheating in such venues, randomised presentation of items is automatically…

Issues concerning the cost and feasibility of using Formulating Hypotheses (FH) test item types for the Graduate Record Examinations have slowed research into their use. This project focused on two major issues that need to be addressed in considering FH items for operational use: the costs of scoring and the assignment of scores along a range of…

Test-taking skills and methods used to prepare students for taking an examination are independent of knowledge and skills in the content area being tested. Test-taking skills do not give students the correct answers, but do allow the student to concentrate on answering questions without being confused by the mechanics of the test. Students who…

A closed form approximation is given for the variance of examinee proficiency estimates in the Rasch model for dichotomous items, under the condition that only estimates, rather than true values, of item difficulty parameters are available. The term that must be added to the usual response-sampling variance is inversely proportional to both the…

Valid assessment of professional competence has proven to be an elusive goal. Objective tests, direct observation of performance, overall ratings of competence, and simulations have been tried and found wanting in one way or another. Objective test items are criticized as being unrealistic and therefore invalid. Direct observation tends to be very…