This article highlights problems inherent in traditional screening measures for giftedness and suggests the student portfolio as a promising alternative for the identification of gifted children, especially those from special populations. Examples of items to be included in portfolios include writing samples, journals, artwork, projects, class…

This article presents a schema designed to guide the development of theory, methodology, and research related to the psychoeducational assessment of African-American learners with gifts and talents. The relationships among African-American worldviews, needed psychoeducational assessment theory and methodology, and desirable assessment and…

Computer activities can help children learn fundamental principles and collect information for use in problem solving. Because standardized tests do not accurately measure students' problem-solving skills and teacher-made tests are often unreliable, educators should peruse the "Mental Measurements Yearbook" series for more appropriate…

Comments that multiple-choice tests are objective, test some knowledge, and are easy to grade, but often ask for little more than rote recall. Offers a structure for multiple-choice questions that require evaluative thinking skills as well as knowledge of the facts. Includes discussion of objectivity, preparation, and memorization. (DK)

A proposed solution for the age x cohort x period issue in lifespan research uses all data, even with missing cells; can be used for repeated measures designs or designs in which new subjects are measured at each period; and allows assessment of each main effect and two-way interaction. (SLD)

Developing national academic standards may improve students' preparation for work or college. However, any proposed new national assessment system will be doomed to failure if seen as the cure-all for the country's educational ills. The contributors to this "NASSP Bulletin" issue examine numerous challenges associated with using tests as a tool to…

External assessments for accountability may be taking precedence over other educational assessment purposes and are beginning to direct teaching and learning in schools. Four common concerns include teaching to the tests, narrowing instructional focus and allowing tests to determine curricula, deemphasizing higher order thinking skills, and…

Two studies investigated interrater agreement among 10 clinical dental examiners who scored residual subgingival calculus after student scaling on 4,160 real and 92 manikin tooth surfaces. Interrater reliability was low. Results suggest a need in periodontics for effective examiner calibration methods and objective subgingival calculus detection…

This study found that, of 18 children with severe visual and multiple impairments assessed using the Acuity Card Procedure (originally developed for assessing the visual acuity of infants), 42 percent responded. A similar group received a simple instructional intervention prior to testing and that group's response rate was 85 percent. (Author/DB)

A method is proposed for sequential evaluation of reliability of psychometric instruments. Sample size is unfixed; a test statistic is computed after each person is sampled and a decision is made in each stage of the sampling process. Results from a series of Monte-Carlo experiments establish the method's efficiency. (SLD)

Two methods of computing test equating coefficients under item response theory by the following authors are compared: (1) B. H. Loyd and H. D. Hoover (1980); and (2) M. L. Stocking and F. M. Lord (1983). Conditions under which the method of Stocking and Lord is preferable are described. (SLD)

Possible sources of intrajudge inconsistency in standard setting are reviewed, and approaches are presented to improve the accuracy of rating. Procedures for providing judges with feedback through discussion or computerized communication are discussed. Monitoring and maintaining judges' consistency throughout the rating process are essential. (SLD)

This article discusses issues and difficulties encountered in efforts at the University of Birmingham (England) to standardize a new psychometric assessment tool, a tactile speed-of-information-processing test for children with blindness. The problem of defining the population on which the test is standardized is seen as particularly difficult.…

A strategy is described for dealing with measurement situations in which certain categories of responses are null, that is, persons do not respond in certain categories to certain items. The method is described for the partial credit model while maintaining the integrity of the original response framework. (SLD)

Examined whether variations in construction and scoring (frequency, sum, average scores) of life events scale (stress measure) for adolescents yielded different outcomes. Findings from 1,740 high school students indicated that frequency of life events and their average intensity were distinct measures and of equal importance when assessing stress…