Finds no evidence that the standard procedure for administering a spelling test (in which the examiner pronounces the word, uses it in a sentence, then pronounces it again) is any less effective than those utilizing additional visualization and vocalization components. (RS)

First-year college students (n=506) completed Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (J. Raven, J. Court, and J. Raven, 1988). Data were used to contribute to the normative database for American college students. A short form developed from 12 items of the original 36 was found to possess acceptable psychometric properties. (SLD)

Investigated the use of mathematical programming techniques to generate parallel test forms with passages and items based on item-response theory (IRT) using the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination. Generated four parallel test forms from the item bank of almost 1,100 items. Comparison with human-generated forms supports the mathematical…

Question dimensions, construction, and response formats of 50 reactionnaire forms completed by participants in medical school programs were analyzed. Numerous problems in 30 forms and shortcomings in 20 others were identified. Ways to improve layout, appearance, anonymity protection, and questions were suggested. (Contains 53 references.) (SK)

Investigates the effects of text organization and response format on second language learners' performance on reading comprehension tests. Analyzes the results of reading comprehension tests that were delivered to Japanese University students. Found that text organization and test format had a significant impact on students' performance.…

Argues that the School Leaders Licensure Assessment required for administrator certification in several states promotes a narrow, mainstream concept of instructional leadership. (PKP)

Studied the reliability of a translation of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) (D. Offer and others, 1984) with 268 Finnish 13-year-olds, 83 of whom were tested a second time. Results support the reliability of the OSIQ for only four subscales. (SLD)

Studied whether a group's average percent correct in a content domain could be accurately estimated for groups taking a single test form and not the entire domain of items. Evaluated six Item Response Theory-based domain score estimation methods through simulation and concluded they performed better than observed score on the form taken. (SLD)

This study aimed to provide evidence to guide decisions on the type and timing of assessments in a graduate medical programme, by identifying whether students from particular degree backgrounds face greater difficulty in satisfying the current assessment requirements. We examined the performance rank of students in three types of assessments and…

Traditionally, the fixed-length linear paper-and-pencil (P&P) mode of administration has been the standard method of test delivery. With the advancement of technology, however, the popularity of administering tests using adaptive methods like computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and multistage testing (MST) has grown in the field of measurement…

Alternate forms reliability of the Behavioral Relaxation Scale (BRS; Poppen,1998), a direct observation measure of relaxed behavior, was examined. A single BRS score, based on long duration observation (5-minute), has been found to be a valid measure of relaxation and is correlated with self-report and some physiological measures. Recently,…

This study examined the equivalency of computer and conventional versions of the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES), a test of adult literacy skills in Reading Text, Document Use and Numeracy. Seventy-three college students completed the computer version, and their scores were compared with those who had taken the test in the conventional…

The feasibility of using linear and equipercentile equating methods (W. H. Angoff, 1984) to equate forms of the Test of Written English (TWE) by using the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as an anchor was explored. These two equating methods assume that either the TOEFL test and TWE test measure the same skills or that the examinee…

A procedure for checking the score equivalence of nearly identical editions of a test is described. The procedure employs the standard error of equating (SEE) and utilizes graphical representation of score conversion deviation from the identity function in standard error units. Two illustrations of the procedure involving Scholastic Aptitude Test…

Equating a test form to itself through a chain of equatings, commonly referred to as circular equating, has been widely used as a criterion to evaluate the adequacy of equating. This paper uses both analytical methods and simulation methods to show that this criterion is in general invalid in serving this purpose. For the random groups design done…