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In recent years, computer-based testing (CBT) has grown in popularity, is increasingly being implemented across the United States, and will likely become the primary mode for delivering tests in the future. Although CBT offers many advantages over traditional paper-and-pencil testing, assessment experts, researchers, practitioners, and users have expressed concern about the comparability of scores between the two test administration modes. To help provide an answer to this issue, a meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the administration mode effects of CBTs and paper-and-pencil tests on K-12 student reading assessments. Findings indicate that the administration mode had no statistically significant effect on K-12 student reading achievement scores. Four moderator variables—study design, sample size, computer delivery algorithm, and computer practice—made statistically significant contributions to predicting effect size. Three moderator variables—grade level, type of test, and computer delivery method—did not affect the differences in reading scores between test modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study compared student performance between paper-and-pencil testing (PPT) and computer-based testing (CBT) on a large-scale statewide end-of-course English examination. Analyses were conducted at both the item and test levels. The overall results suggest that scores obtained from PPT and CBT were comparable. However, at the content domain level, a rather large difference in the reading comprehension section suggests that reading comprehension test may be more affected by the test administration mode. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the administration mode did not alter the construct of the test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the strategies of an effective feedback in written assignments of students. Specification of comments; Implementation of the suggestions of instructor; Minimal corrections of mechanical errors; Hierarchy on the importance of comments.

The present paper introduces a random weights linear logistic test model for the measurement of individual differences in operation-specific practice effects within a single administration of a test. The proposed model is an extension of the linear logistic test model of learning developed by Spada (1977) in which the practice effects are considered random effects varying across examinees. A Bayesian framework was used for model estimation and evaluation. A simulation study was conducted to examine the behavior of the model in combination with the Bayesian procedures. The results demonstrated the good performance of the estimation and evaluation methods. Additionally, an empirical study was conducted to illustrate the applicability of the model to real data. The model was applied to a sample of responses from a logical ability test providing evidence of individual differences in operation-specific practice effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial ability, defined as the ability to visualize, imagine, translate, and interpret 2D and 3D spatial information, is a crucial building block required for the interior design and architecture professions. In this paper, we report on the development process as well as the validity and reliability of the Architecture and Interior design domain‐specific Spatial Ability Test (AISAT), a new instrument that measures domain‐specific spatial ability in the field of architecture and interior design. A total of 142 college students in Korea and the U.S. engaged in the final stage of the development process—the validity and reliability check—by taking both the AISAT and two general spatial ability tests. The results from the split‐half correlation and internal consistency showed that the AISAT reached a desirable level of reliability. Face, content, concurrent, and convergent validity were achieved to verify the AISAT. The authors hope that the AISAT will be used to measure domain‐specific spatial ability, ultimately expanding our understanding of the role of spatial ability in spatial design thinking and performance. The AISAT has the potential to benefit (1) researchers who seek a credible tool to assess design students' spatial ability, (2) educators investigating the effect of their intervention in spatial design performance in relation to spatial ability, and (3) researchers in spatial ability who would like to extend their interest in spatial design beyond the traditional psychometric approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the relative sensitivity to detect functional mobility changes with a full-length parent questionnaire compared with a computerized adaptive testing version of the questionnaire after a 16-week group fitness programme. Design: Prospective, pre- and posttest study with a 16-week group fitness intervention. Setting: Three community-based fitness centres. Subjects: Convenience sample of children (n = 28) with physical or developmental disabilities. Interventions: A 16-week group exercise programme held twice a week in a community setting. Main measures: A full-length (161 items) paper version of a mobility parent questionnaire based on the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, but expanded to include expected skills of children up to 15 years old was compared with a 15-item computer adaptive testing version. Both measures were administered at pre- and posttest intervals. Results: Both the full-length Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and the 15item computer adaptive testing version detected significant changes between preand posttest scores, had large effect sizes, and standardized response means, with a modest decrease in the computer adaptive test as compared with the 161-item paper version. Correlations between the computer adaptive and paper formats across preand posttest scores ranged from r = 0.76 to 0.86. Conclusions: Both functional mobility test versions were able to detect positive functional changes at the end of the intervention period. Greater variability in score estimates was generated by the computerized adaptive testing version, which led to a relative reduction in sensitivity as defined by the standardized response mean. Extreme scores were generally more difficult for the computer adaptive format to estimate with as much accuracy as scores in the mid-range of the scale. However, the reduction in accuracy and sensitivity, which did not influence the group effect results in this study, is counterbalanced by the large reduction in testing burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines changes in skill requirements for production jobs in 93 manufacturing establishments between 1978 and 1986 and clerical jobs in 211 firms between 1978 and 1988. The unique data set allows an analysis not only of changes in the distribution of employment across jobs-the usual approach-but also of changes in skill requirements within job titles. The results suggest that significant upskilling is occurring within most production jobs in manufacturing; shifts in the composition of the work force toward higher-skill production jobs contribute a smaller amount to the overall rise in average skill requirements. Changes in clerical jobs are more complicated and suggest an even split between jobs that were upskilled and those that were deskilled The development of new office equipment appears to be associated with the deskilling of specific clerical jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at identifying the differences between skilled and unskilled welders by analysing the position data obtained with a three-dimensional motion capture system. Using the position data of markers the tip point position of the torch is constructed. The kinematic data of the torch tip obtained from various skilled and unskilled performances is analysed. The analysis reveals that a skilled welder has better control of the torch tip with less variation of the position and speed in the three directions. Six criteria are developed to distinguish the skilled and unskilled performances. First, threshold values are determined for the three position and three speed variations. Then, these threshold values are used to determine alarm levels, which signify the degree of violation of the thresholds. Lastly, the alarm levels are used to construct a degree of skill for each performance. The performance of the six criteria are tested on the training and validation set. The criteria based on the variation of position along the welding line and the height from the welded material are the most successful. In the conclusion the paper discusses how to make use of the results in order to develop a physically interactive welding robot for training and real time assistance purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted a meta-analysis of computer-based and paper-and-pencil administration mode effects on K-12 student mathematics tests. Both initial and final results based on fixed- and random-effects models are presented. The results based on the final selected studies with homogeneous effect sizes show that the administration mode had no statistically significant effect on K-12 student mathematics tests. Only the moderator variable of computer delivery algorithm contributed to predicting the effect size. The differences in scores between test modes were larger for linear tests than for adaptive tests. However, such variables as study design, grade level, sample size, type of test, computer delivery method, and computer practice did not lead to differences in student mathematics scores between computer-based and paper-and-pencil modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four experiments are reported, investigating the mechanisms underlying the compatibility effect in the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998). All experiments involved two IATs: flower IAT, in which the target categories were flowers and insects, and number IAT, involving even and odd numbers as target categories. In Experiment 1, using the standard IAT procedure, the two IATs produced equal IAT effects, despite large differences in rated valence contrast between flowers and insects and between even and odd numbers. Experiment 2 used a procedure developed by Klauer and Mierke (2005) and produced results consistent with the view that valence plays a role in the flower IAT but not in the number IAT. Experiments 3 and 4 used manipulations similar to those developed by Rothermund and Wentura (2004) and showed that these manipulations affected the flower IAT and number IAT differently. The results provide converging evidence that the two types of IAT effects—one based on valence and one based on familiarity—are empirically dissociable.Experiments 1and 2 reported in this paper were conducted as an honours project by Marie Peek-O'Leary under the supervision of Sachiko Kinoshita. Parts of this paper were presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society held in Vancouver, Canada, in November, 2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an activity that would be helpful for children to understand why objects has color. Importance of ability to respond to and record observations; Implications of the activity for students.

The article discusses the regulations of the State Competency Testing for Teacher Certification in the U.S. The most active in promoting both written and performance-based certification tests for beginning teachers is the southern states. Arkansas, particularly, passed a legislation that requires on-the-job teachers in the state to take a competency tests but was condemned by the National Education Association. Also, the Educational Testing Service did not allow Arkansas to use the National Teacher Examination because certification for teacher is no longer life-long in some states.

This study investigates the American Institute of Accountants' development of aptitude testing in the 1940s, drawing on Abbott's system of professions as a theoretical framework. The Institute began to emphasise the importance of the CPA designation among its members in the 1930s. Whereas this change in emphasis made public accounting more prestigious as a professional pursuit, the increased barriers to entry and the onset of WW2 led to a shortage of qualified individuals entering the profession. The Institute established a committee addressing this shortage through the development of aptitude tests administered to undergraduate students. Based on previously unexamined empirical evidence from the University of Illinois Archives, this study is the first to investigate this historical episode and, in so doing, contribute to our understanding of the development of the American accounting profession, the curious case of testing for aptitude in accounting, and the prevailing separation between the profession and universities in the training of students that seek to enter public accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is essentially a position paper written in response to S. Alan Cohen's article on visual perception and reading published in last month's JOURNAL. Problems in offering more efficient prescriptions for teaching reading are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the themes of the research papers in the February 1962 issue of the journal "Review of Educational Research." Among the topics discussed in the papers are the outline of investigations of reliability, of concurrent and/or predictive validity, of sex differences, and of social-class differences. In addition to technical questions, the problem of the proper role of factor analysis in test development is also addressed. Also relevant to the question of the proper role of factor analysis in test development are the attempts to develop and use some fairly systematic classification scheme or taxonomy of the traits and abilities as a guide to test development.

The article provides tips for faculty and staff to assure the level of success expected in research and publication. To specialize in some unexplored aspect of the field is helpful. In testing student performance in classes, objective-type questions is the only questionnaire that must be used. "Think through" on paper the major considerations in starting the development of a research or publication idea. It is important to spend a little more time to prepare the presentation in written form when asked to speak or to present a paper.

Background/Context: There is little question that education is changing, seemingly quickly and in some cases dramatically. The mechanisms through which individuals learn are shifting from paper-based ones to electronic media. Simultaneously, the nature of what individuals must learn is evolving, in good part due to an exponential accumulation of knowledge and of technology to access, share, and exploit that knowledge. Finally, how education is organized, offered, and administered is undergoing transformation, most apparently--but not only--in higher education. With potentially seismic changes in the mechanisms, nature, and organization of education must also come changes in educational assessment. Purpose: This paper makes 13 claims about what educational assessment must do if it is to remain relevant in the face of rapid and potentially dramatic changes in education and society. Research Design: Analytic essay. Conclusions/Recommendations: If it is to remain relevant, educational assessment must provide meaningful information; satisfy multiple purposes; use modem conceptions of competency as a design basis; align test and task designs, scoring, and interpretation with those modem conceptions; adopt modem methods for designing and interpreting complex assessments; account for context; design for fairness and accessibility; design for positive impact; design for engagement; incorporate information from multiple sources; respect privacy; gather and share validity evidence; and use technology to achieve substantive goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of fitting unidimensional item-response models to potentially multidimensional data has been extensively studied. The focus of this article is on response data that contains a major dimension of interest but that may also contain minor nuisance dimensions. Because fitting a unidimensional model to multidimensional data results in ability estimates that represent a combination of the major and minor dimensions, such a procedure tends to produce ability estimates that cannot be compared across different tests targeting the same construct, or even across different test forms from the same test bank. In this paper, we build upon previous theoretical results in multidimensional IRT and propose a projective IRT framework that allows the projection of multiple dimensions onto a targeted single dimension that is of substantive interest. Two robust versions of standard error estimate for ability score are also evaluated. An important appeal of the projective IRT procedure is that it allows the direct measurement of a targeted construct and valid inference for test-independent ability scores. Through simulation studies, we show that the proposed projective IRT procedure effectively recovers ability scores in the targeted dimension. The procedure involves only a small amount of additional computation over conventional IRT and could have potential applications in areas such as computerized adaptive testing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports the results of three studies that examined the internal validity, sensitivity and reliability of the Occupational Self Assessment (OSA), a self-report of Occupational Competence and Value for occupational performance and participation (Baron et al 2006). All three studies used a Rasch measurement approach to explore the psychometric properties of iterative versions of the OSA. The first study showed that the 'Myself' Occupational Competence and Values items constituted a unidimensional construct, but did not discriminate optimally between participants. The results also suggested that the two 'My Environment' scales did not contain enough items to exhibit adequate measurement properties. Next, the rating scales were changed from three-point to four-point categories. The second study examined these changes and provided evidence to support the use of a four-point Occupational Competence scale. The Values rating scale was further revised because sensitivity did not improve. The third study confirmed that the OSA items in combination have good internal validity and measure the unidimensional constructs of Occupational Competence and Values. Further, both four-point rating scales resulted in improved person separation, indicated increased sensitivity, and could be used in a consistent manner by 90% of participants with a range of disabilities from a variety of contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the effects of priming in introducing toilet training to a 3-year-old child with autism. Discussions on priming: Research on priming as an educational tool; Methods, participants and setting; Targeted behavior and material; Experimental design.

This article presents a review of technical issues and developments related to criterion-referenced testing and measurement. Criterion-referenced tests are used to monitor individual progress in objectives-based instructional programs, to diagnose learning deficiencies, to evaluate educational and social action programs, and to assess competencies on various certification and licensing examinations. The emphasis of this study is on psychometric and statistical matters. The paper is organized into six sections namely, uses of criterion-referenced test scores, reliability of criterion-referenced test scores, determination test scores, reliability of criterion-referenced test scores, determination of test length, determination of cut-off scores, test development and validation, and summary and suggestions for future research.

To determine the reliability of evaluation decisions about student writing competency across modes of discourse, a large sample of students was randomly assigned a writing task in one of four modes of discourse. Analysis of the data revealed significant differences between the mean score of narrative writing and scores for descriptive, expository, and persuasive writing. The decision consistency analysis also found that on the average, 30% of the students were misclassified across the modes of discourse. It follows from these results that modes of discourse do not appear to be interchangeable for making decisions about the overall writing competency of either groups of, or individual, students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apparent learning disability, as measured by European/American tests and exam/nations, may, in fact, represent a false positive and an artifact of the testing, when the subjects are members of an ethnic culture in which traditions of skills and knowledge do not match those of the culture of those who devised the test. For an authentic estimate of abilities, one must have tests that fit the cultural traditions of the subjects being tested. This principle is extremely relevant to the testing of members of minority cultures in the United States, as well as of Aboriginal Australians who provided the raw data for this paper. In nonminority cultures, the same principle may also be relevant to the testing of a child with a learning disability; for a learning disability may, unsuspectedly, be the specific response of a particular child to his family's inchoate, covert, and paradoxical tradition, directive, or taboo against a specific facet of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, this paper examines the relationship between teaching plans and actually embarking on a teaching career. Results show that almost half the NLS respondents holding teaching positions in 1979 did not report teaching plans in high school, whereas three-fourths of the seniors who planned to teach were not teaching 7 years after high school graduation. Discriminant analysis is used to identify a set of background characteristics, demographic traits, and academic ability measures that distinguish different paths toward, into, and away from a career in teaching. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the issue of excellence and equity in competency testing in the U.S. There is sufficient evidence that shows a disproportionate numbers of minority education students that are being screened out from the teaching profession in states where competency testing is occurring. The certification of teachers through competency testing has forced educators and the public to challenge the premise underlying the philosophy of education in a democratic society. Excellence has been reduced to a quality measurable by scores on standardized examinations and excellence in teaching has been operationally defined through getting a high score on a pencil-paper test.

Following the lead of legislative bodies and school boards nationwide, the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) recently recommended that ‘all applicants for a teaching, administrative, and school personnel certificate issued by the State Teacher Certification Board satisfactorily pass (1) a proficiency examination on basic communication and mathematics skills and (2) a proficiency examination in the major field of the desired teaching or administrative assignment, where appropriate’ (Illinois Association of School Boards, 1980, pp. 15–16). A companion resolution called for a major study of the competence of Illinois school personnel and the eventual adoption of procedures to guarantee their professional competence. Illinois, then, is one of a number of states currently facing the issue of teacher testing. As of this writing, at least 18 states now require teacher testing for certification (Vlaanderen, 1982) and the trend seems clear. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is also weighing in on this issue. In a draft policy statement presented to AACTE at the annual meeting in Houston in 1982, an AACTE Task Force argued that ‘competency assessment is a vital and essential part of any effort to strengthen teacher education programs’ (AACTE, 1982, p. 2). This paper investigates aspects of the teacher testing issue in an effort to assist teacher educators in clarifying their thinking on this significant question. Our analysis addresses two central aspects of the teacher testing movement. The first deals with the assumptions that appear to form the basis of the prescription that teachers ought to be tested. The second examines the various domains in which testing might take place. Several recommendations are then advanced which seem justified given this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various tests and measurements for research purposes in the fields of intelligence, special aptitudes and personality. Connection between achievement test scores and various other variables was included and an indication was made so that tests should pay added attention towards students urging them to express their thoughts in their own language. It became evident that girls averaged higher on marks, whereas boys averaged higher on achievement tests. Papers presenting useful techniques for achievement testing still fall short as these tests fail to measure all the desirable products of teaching.

The article presents a study on the effects of competency-based training on the performance of prospective teachers in the U.S. The paper was designed to help prospective teachers perform pre-tutorial teacher behavior. The treatment uses microplanning employing procedures in the same manner with microteaching which divides tutorial teacher behavior into component parts, each of which is defined and modeled. As objectively defined, Microplanning is designed to enable prospective teachers to perform pre-tutorial teacher behavior,which not only precedes tutorial behavior in time but also relates and explains it.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to improve the performance of decellularized renal scaffolds by the genipin crosslinking method to facilitate the regeneration of tissues and cells and provide better conditions for the regeneration and repair of defective kidneys. Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: normal group, uncrosslinked scaffold group and genipin-crosslinked scaffold group. Hematoxylin eosin, Masson and immunofluorescence staining was used to observe the histomorphological characteristics of the kidneys in each group. The preservation of the renal vascular structure in the three groups was observed by vascular casting. A collagenase degradation assay was used to detect the antidegradation ability of the kidney in the three groups. CCK8 assays were used to test the in vitro biocompatibility of the scaffolds. The lower 1/3 of the rat left kidney was excised, and the defect was filled with decellularized renal scaffolds to observe the effect of scaffold implantation on the regenerative ability of the defective kidney. Results: Histological images showed that the genipin-crosslinked scaffold did not destroy the structure of the scaffold, and the collagen fibers in the scaffold was more regular, and the outline of the glomerulus was clearer than uncrosslinked scaffold. The results of casting showed that the vascular structure of genipin-crosslinked scaffold was still intact. The anti-degradation ability test showed that the anti-degradation ability of genipin-crosslinked scaffold was significantly higher than that of the uncrosslinked scaffold. Cell culture experiments showed that the genipin-crosslinked scaffold had no cytotoxicity and promoted cell proliferation to some extent. In vivo scaffold transplantation experiments further demonstrated that the genipin-crosslinked scaffold had better anti-degradation and anti-inflammatory ability. Conclusion: Genipin-crosslinked rat kidney scaffold complemented kidney defects in rats can enhance scaffold-induced kidney regeneration and repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many assessment problems--aptitude testing, hiring decisions, appraisals of the risk of recidivism, evaluation of the credibility of testimonial sources, and so on--the fair treatment of different groups of individuals is an important goal. But individuals can be legitimately grouped in many different ways. Using a framework and fairness constraints explored in research on algorithmic fairness, I show that eliminating certain forms of bias across groups for one way of classifying individuals can make it impossible to eliminate such bias across groups for another way of dividing people up. And this point generalizes if we require merely that assessments be approximately bias-free. Moreover, even if the fairness constraints are satisfied for some given partitions of the population, the constraints can fail for the coarsest common refinement, that is, the partition generated by taking intersections of the elements of these coarser partitions. This shows that these prominent fairness constraints admit the possibility of forms of intersectional bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skills are currently riding high on the political agenda and major changes are underway with respect to regulation and governance. We explore developments taking place in the Sheffield city-region, particularly the 'skills strategy for Sheffield' and its governance. We suggest that city-regions reinforce, and have the potential to increase, rather than resolve, the uneven development of labour markets and interlinked socio-spatial inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present highly developed status of psychological and educational testing in the United States is in part the result of many efforts over the past 100 years to develop economical and reliable methods of scoring. The present article traces a number of methods, ranging from hand scoring to present-day computer applications, stimulated by the need to economically score large-scale scholastic aptitude and achievement tests and complex interest assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimal research has been conducted contrasting the effectiveness of various testing accommodations for college students diagnosed with ADHD. The current assumption is that these students are best served by extending the time they have to take a test. It is the supposition of these investigators that paced item presentation may be a more beneficial accommodation than extended time. To test the effects of paced item presentation, the investigators designed a mixed methods sequential explanatory study to explore the relationship between computer-paced and student-paced item presentation on the academic test performance in college students diagnosed with ADHD. The participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 testing conditions. Half of the participants were provided a computer-paced testing condition, and half were provided a student-paced testing condition within a computer-based environment. Interviews were conducted after the test administration to discern the students' perceptions of the value of the various components of the testing environment. No significant differences were found in performance scores between the students tested under the two conditions; however, the interview data illuminated the quantitative findings in that the students reported that the computer-based testing environment itself, as well as other environmental variables, provided a beneficial structure and format conducive to their overall successful performance under both accommodations. The practicability of university disability offices offering a computerized format for students diagnosed with ADHD is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper explores the development of a rigorous computational model of driver behavior in a cognitive architecture--a computational framework with underlying psychological theories that incorporate basic properties and limitations of the human system.Background: Computational modeling has emerged as a powerful tool for studying the complex task of driving, allowing researchers to simulate driver behavior and explore the parameters and constraints of this behavior.Method: An integrated driver model developed in the ACT-R (Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational) cognitive architecture is described that focuses on the component processes of control, monitoring, and decision making in a multilane highway environment.Results: This model accounts for the steering profiles, lateral position profiles, and gaze distributions of human drivers during lane keeping, curve negotiation, and lane changing.Conclusion: The model demonstrates how cognitive architectures facilitate understanding of driver behavior in the context of general human abilities and constraints and how the driving domain benefits cognitive architectures by pushing model development toward more complex, realistic tasks.Application: The model can also serve as a core computational engine for practical applications that predict and recognize driver behavior and distraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies to assess experimentally whether attention affects the judged length of a line have produced discordant results. This paper reports the results of a test designed to avoid factors that were not controlled in previous studies. Stimuli were either two vertical lines or two horizontal lines of equal physical length presented briefly on opposite sides of a fixation cross. Subjects were asked to direct their attention to one line when the arm of the cross pointing to the line changed in luminance. This arm was used either as a precue or as a postcue. Subjects judged lines to be longer when a precue preceded the line than when a postcue followed the line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes how to make tactile charts on the basis of medical images and how blind students evaluate these charts. Methods which could be used to make a tactile chart; Importance of establishing rules for editing the source images for conversion to original tactile charts; Factor which contributes to the conventional X-ray comprehension by blind students.

Presents a study which provided an evidence about the test-retest reliability of writing performance that are believed to reflect the conditions that prevail in college classrooms. Responses of college students to writing assignments that were created by instructors; Methodology; Discussion.

Features a study which examined equity issues in science achievement, based on the conception of science achievement in major reform documents. Discussion on the concept of equity and science achievement; Discussion and implications.

Presents information on a study which estimated year to year changes in average writing performance of schools with a group-level version of the generalized partial credit IRT model. Methodology; Results and discussion.

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) was developed to more equitably identify students of color, as it advertises itself as a culture-fair measure. In this meta-analytic evaluation, we aimed to investigate (a) the generalizability of validity evidence of NNAT by checking its construct and criterion validity with other measures (Part I) and (b) whether NNAT truly meets its goal to identify more culturally diverse students (Part II). After reviewing 1,714 studies, a total of 29 studies met our criteria (59 effect sizes from 22 studies for Part I and 7 effect sizes from 7 studies for Part II). In Part I, we investigated empirical evidence of validity of NNAT in relationship with different types of measures (overall effect size of r was.44); The results revealed that the correlation between NNAT and the achievement test results was 0.68, followed by the intelligence measures similar to NNAT (e.g., Cognitive Abilities Test, Otis–Lennon School Ability Tests; r =.31) and other alternative measures often used to identify gifted students (e.g., teacher-rating scale; r =.20). The moderator analysis results showed high correlations between NNAT and other measures when Naglieri is an author of the study. In Part II, although NNAT identified more students of color compared with other nonverbal tests (overall effect size of risk ratio was 0.42), findings revealed that students of color remain underrepresented in gifted programs and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses non-acceptance of gifted writers by parents and teachers. Topics discussed include the identification criteria for placement into gifted program such as Otis Lennon School Ability Test, a teacher checklist and Matrix Analogies Test, assignment of revising the writing sample criterion, New Jersey Writing Project in Texas training, an observation-based checklist of characteristics common to gifted writers, and cut-off scores were required for elementary and secondary admissions.

The increase in the number of states using some form of competency testing prior to the certification of teachers is substantiated by Flippo in this article. The author includes an update on teacher certification testing activities across the United States as well as a discussion of some of the issues and concerns associated with testing programs. While certification testing appears to offer a solution to certain problems related to quality control and teacher selection, it also creates new issues that should be addressed by states that are considering the development and implementation of competency testing for certification. Flippo discusses some of those issues and makes specific recommendations for policymakers and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the logic, law and the implications of testing for teacher competence in the U.S. Through competency testing, teachers are measured on their knowledge of the subject matter, general and professional knowledge. Teachers who passed the test are believed to be effective teachers than those who did not. Also, students of licensed teachers will learn more and perform better than the students of the teachers who did not pass the test. However, according to a study, it has no convincing evidence that there is a relationship between the score of the teacher on test and the increased learning by students.

The article provides information on teacher competency testing and its possible impact on educators in the U.S. Teacher competency test is designed to measure the minimum knowledge and skills needed for adequate performance in the classroom. It is implemented and administered by various state departments of education for teachers' certification purposes. Competency tests vary widely from state to state because some states have different content knowledge tests for each of the fields in which they certify teachers. The most common procedure used by the test developers in determining test content is to ask the state department for whom the test is being developed. There are negative concerns in the test development. However, there have been claims announced by states implementing teacher certification testing programs that the quality of their newly certified teachers has improved.

The article focuses on the search for teacher competency through the application of the performance-based teacher education (PBTE) and competency-based teacher education (CBTE). The author defines competency-based education (CBE) as an instructional process based on the demonstration and assessment of identifiable abilities and skills. The author cites the essential characteristics of the CBTE and the PBTE. The author assesses the aspects of CBE that made an impact on teacher education. Significantly, the CBE has been applied to high school graduation and teacher certification. Furthermore, compares the minimal-competency testing for teachers with that of the CBTE concept. Finally, the author discusses the elements of teacher competence.

This article presents a research on the reinvention of response-contingent testing (RCT). The basic idea of RCT is to give initial information concerning a person's ability and with the aid of the computer an item designed to effect the greatest reduction in the uncertainty about the person's true ability is presented according to the author. It is evident that RCT has much to contribute to decision-making and finds a natural home in instructional systems designed to tailor instruction to individual.

The purpose of this paper was to determine what educationally relevant differences exist, if any, between two groups of black collegians those who enter traditionally Negro colleges and those who enter integrated ones. On the basis of data from the College Student Questionnaires (Part 1) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (Verbal), black students entering integrated institutions were found to have higher SAT-V scores, to be more independent, liberal, concerned with social injustice, and to aspire to more years of formal education. Many of the differences between the two groups, however, were found to be highly correlated with SAT scores. Thus it would appear that to the extent integrated institutions are attracting the higher ability (as measured by the SAT) Negro students, they are also attracting those with a quite different set of attitudes, background characteristics, and orientations toward college. In view of recent efforts on the part of integrated institutions to attract Negro students, such facts are important to recognize and consider, for the practice of focusing on students with higher SAT scores is also bringing about a redistribution of behavior styles and personality characteristics that contributes critically to campus environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the correct treatment of covariance analysis in applying it in the field of education. It is widely used to adjust criterion scores such as achievement for the effects of a covariate such as ability in order to compare several treatments. The paper also contains a brief review of covariance analysis, the underlying model and necessary assumptions. The analysis is based on the assumption that within each group at each ability level the criterion variable has a normal distribution.

The article presents information on various research papers on the identification and developing educational programs for gifted students published between February 1963 to June 1965. In the identification of these students, measuring instruments play two distinct roles. First they help in the identification of gifted children as a first step to the initiation of some special program, and secondly, they help in concluding the extension of the definition of giftedness. These measuring instruments are viewed in terms of the effectiveness and efficiency with which they can identify those youngsters who fit the criteria for the special program. Their criteria usually consist of an individual Intelligence Quotient test and achievement tests. During several identification procedures it has been found out that the younger the child is, the less effective is its identification. A second use of measuring instruments relates to the potential extension the definition of giftedness itself. In a study, researchers Robert A. Dentler and Bernard Mackler, reviewed the potential impact of examiner attitude on performance on tests of anxiety and originality. The study reported that under different circumstances, the experimental group obtained a significantly higher score on originality than any of the control groups.

This article assesses the application of statistical methods in test construction and evaluation. A number of empirical investigations yielded evidence concerning the effectiveness of various statistical procedures when they are applied to the analysis and evaluation of item and test data. Only those empirical studies have been included that in terms of their design and scope seem to offer significant evidence regarding the applicability of various statistical technics to problems of test construction and evaluation.