Objective test

Abstract: 1. Fundamental Issues in Measurement. 2. Measurement and Numbers. 3. Giving Meaning to Scores. 4. Qualities Desired in Any Measurement Procedure: Reliability. 5. Qualities Desired in Any Measurement Procedure: Validity. 6. Practical Issues Related to Testing. 7. Assessment and Educational Decisions. 8. Aptitude Tests. 9. Standardized Achievement Tests. 10. Performance and Product Evaluation. 11. Interests, Personality, and Adjustment. 12. Attitudes and Rating Scales. 13. Assessment and Exceptional Children. 14. Ethics and Issues in Assessment. 15. Principles of Objective Test Development. 16. Special Topics in Test Development and Use. References. Appendix 1: Calculating the Mean, Standard Deviation, and Correlation Coefficient. Appendix 2: Percent of Cases Falling Below Selected Values on the Normal Curve. Appendix 3: Sources for Educational Appendix 4: Commercially Available Psychological and Educational Tests and Inventories. Name Index. Subject Index.

Abstract: TOC PART I THE MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT PROCESS Chapter 1 Educational Testing and Assessment: Context, Issues, and Trends Educational Assessment: Barometer and Lever of Reform Five Decades of Test-Based Educational Reform Technological Advances in Testing and Assessment Public Concern About Testing and Assessment Chapter 2 The Role of Measurement and Assessment in Teaching Instructional Decisions Requiring Assessment Data Assessment, Test, and Measurement General Principles of Assessment Assessment and the Instructional Process Types of Assessment Procedures Summary of Assessment Categories Chapter 3 Instructional Goals and Objectives: Foundation for Assessment Instructional Objectives as Learning Outcomes From Overly Specific Objectives to the Thinking Curriculum Method of Stating Instructional Objectives Chapter 4 Validity Nature of Validity Major Considerations in Assessment Validation Content Considerations Construct Considerations Assessment-Criterion Relationships Consideration of Consequences Factors Influencing Validity Chapter 5 Reliability and Other Desired Characteristics Nature of Reliability Determining Reliability by Correlation Methods Standard Error of Measurement Factors Influencing Reliability Measures Reliability of Assessments Evaluated in Terms of a Fixed Performance Standard Usability PART II CLASSROOM TESTS AND ASSESSMENTS Chapter 6 Planning Classroom Tests and Assessments The Purpose of Classroom Testing and Assessment Developing Specifications for Tests and Assessments Selecting Appropriate Types of Items and Assessment Tasks Considerations in Preparing Relevant Test Items and Assessment Tasks Chapter 7 Constructing Objective Test Items: Simple Forms Short-Answer Items True-False or Alternative-Response Items Matching Exercises Chapter 8 Constructing Objective Test Items: Multiple-Choice Forms Characteristics of Multiple-Choice Items Uses of Multiple-Choice Items Advantages and Limitations of Multiple-Choice Items Suggestions for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items Chapter 9 Measuring Complex Achievement: The Interpretive Exercise Nature of the Interpretive Exercise Forms and Uses of the Interpretive Exercise Advantages and Limitations of Interpretive Exercises Suggestions for Constructing Interpretive Exercises Chapter 10 Measuring Complex Achievement: Essay Questions Forms and Uses of Essay Questions Summary Comparison of Learning Outcomes Measured Advantages and Limitations of Essay Questions Suggestions for Constructing Essay Questions Scoring Criteria Suggestions for Scoring Essay Questions Chapter 11 Measuring Complex Achievement: Performance-Based Assessments Types of Performance-Based Assessment Advantages and Limitations of Performance Assessments Suggestions for Constructing Performance Tasks Performance Criteria Scoring Rubrics and Rating Scales Checklists Student Participation in Rating Chapter 12 Portfolios What Qualifies as a Portfolio of Student Work? Potential Strengths and Weaknesses of Portfolios Purpose of Portfolios Guidelines for Portfolio Entries Guidelines and Students' Role in Selection of Portfolio Entries and Self-Evaluation Evaluation Criteria Using Portfolios in Instruction and Communication Chapter 13 Assessment Procedures: Observational Techniques, Peer Appraisal, and Self-Report Anecdotal Records Student Judgments and Reports Peer Appraisal Self-Report Techniques Attitude Measurement Interest Inventories Personality Measures Chapter 14 Assembling, Administering, and Appraising Classroom Tests and Assessments Assembling the Classroom Test Administering and Scoring Classroom Tests and Assessments Appraising Classroom Tests and Assessments Building a File of Effective Items and Tasks Chapter 15 Grading and Reporting Functions of Grading and Reporting Systems Types of Grading and Reporting Systems Multiple Grading and Reporting Systems Assigning Letter Grades Record-Keeping and Grading Software Conducting Parent-Teacher Conferences Reporting Standardized Test Results to Parents PART III SELECTING AND USING PUBLISHED TESTS Chapter 16 Achievement Tests Characteristics of Standardized Achievement Tests Standardized Tests versus Informal Classroom Tests Standardized Achievement Test Batteries Achievement Tests in Specific Areas Customized Achievement Tests Individual Achievement Tests Chapter 17 Aptitude Tests Achievement and Aptitude Tests Scholastic Aptitude and Learning Ability Group Tests of Learning Ability Individual Tests Cautions in Interpreting and Using Learning Ability Scores Culture-Fair Testing Differential Aptitude Testing Chapter 18 Test Selection, Administration, and Use Obtaining Information About Published Tests Selecting Appropriate Tests Administering Published Tests Using Results of Published Tests Chapter 19 Interpreting Test Scores and Norms Methods of Interpreting Test Scores Grade Norms Percentile Rank Standard Scores Profiles Skill Analysis Judging the Adequacy of Norms Using Local Norms Cautions in Interpreting Test Scores APPENDICES Appendix A Elementary Statistics Appendix B Professional Journals for Locating Measurement and Assessment Articles Appendix C Content Standards Appendix D Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students Appendix E Test Publishers Appendix F Selected Published Tests Appendix G Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Appendix H Relating Assessment Procedures to Instructional Objectives

Abstract: A course was developed to teach cognitive skills that apply to learning and intellectual performance independently of subject matter, stressing observation and classification, reasoning, critical use of language, problem solving, inventiveness, and decision making. With pretests and posttests, it was taught experimentally to over 400 Venezuelan seventh graders, whose classes were matched to those of a control group. Although evaluation of such a course is conceptually difficult and long-term effects have not been assessed, standard and special objective tests and various subjective tests indicate consistently that the course had sizable, beneficial effects on its students. Interest in classroom teaching of generally useful thinking skills has increased markedly. The prospects of improving intellectual competence have been discussed in several conferences and workshops, and intervention programs developed in several countries have recently been reviewed under the auspices of the National Institute of Education (Nickerson, Perkins, & Smith, 1985). This article de- scribes one such program that was distinguished by an eclectic approach to the conceptual structure of the cur- riculum and a relatively extensive evaluation of results. The program described here was initiated by the Venezuelan government, which requested the assistance of Harvard University. From the onset, the collaboration also included researchers at Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. and in the Venezuelan Ministry of Education. The larger program in Venezuela of which this project was a part was described in Science (Walsh, 1981) and in the APA Monitor (Cordes, 1985). Although the course ma- terials were developed for Venezuelan schools, in partic- ular the seventh grade, and much attention was given to ensuring the appropriateness of the materials to that cul- ture, they have since been published in English (Adams, 1986a). The course was designed to enhance performance on a wide variety of tasks that require careful observation and classification, deductive or inductive reasoning, crit- ical use of language, hyiaothesis generation and testing, problem solving, inventiveness, and decision making. The focus was on cognitive skills that apply to learning and intellectual performance independently of subject matter, rather than conventional academic content. Skills that can reasonably be considered to be components of intel- ligence and that are sufficiently well defined to lend themselves to explicit instruction were the targets of the course. The design and preparation of the course material began in the fall of 1980. About a dozen experienced Venezuelan teachers worked with the project staff during part of the summer of 1981, becoming familiar with the material and suggesting modifications. Some of these teachers later trained the Venezuelan teachers who would actually teach the course in its final form, at which time they supervised the classroom teaching. During the sec- ond academic year, 1981-1982, some of the material was tested in Venezuelan classrooms and evaluated informally by the teachers, after which the material was further modified. Also during that year the remainder of the course was prepared, as were the testing instruments that were to be used for formal evaluation of the course during the academic year 1982-1983. Various tests of mental abilities were adapted, de- veloped, and used during the second year. Two main pur- poses were served by the testing at this stage: The first was to assess the feasibility of the tests and to adapt them where necessary for Venezuelan seventh graders. The sec- ond purpose was to find schools in which the distributions of test scores were sufficiently similar to permit the se- lection of comparable experimental and control groups for the third year. Besides several standard tests of general aptitude, some 500 test items reflecting the evolving con- tent of the experimental course were written, of which about 70% were administered to samples of schoolchil- dren. The resulting Target Abilities Tests, as well as the final set of standard mental abilities tests, are described later.

Abstract: In connection with a study bridging rating, questionnaire, and objective test factors, confirmation was sought with respect to the twelve personality factors previously found for young adult men. Variables were chosen to clarify and discriminate the nature of related factors. Ratings of and by 373 students were obtained, and the present study describes the separate factorization for the 133 men among them. Factorization yielded eleven factors, of which, on “blind” rotation for simple structure, 9 or 10 proved to be identical with those of the previous study. A new factorM is described.