The author provides a checklist for educators who are selecting technically adequate tests for identifying and referring students for gifted education services and programs. The checklist includes questions related to how the test was normed, reliability and validity studies as well as questions related to types of scores, administration, and…

In the attempt to identify or prevent unfair tests, both quantitative analyses and logical evaluation are often used. For the most part, fairness evaluation is a pragmatic attempt at determining whether procedural or substantive due process has been accorded to either a group of test takers or an individual. In both the individual and comparative…

University classes in marketing are often large and therefore require teams of teachers to cover all of the necessary activities. A major problem with teaching teams is the inconsistency that results from myriad individuals offering subjective opinions (Preston 1997). This innovation uses the latest moderation techniques along with Audience…

For a multitude of reasons candidates do not always complete all assessments in the examinations they are entered for. Using examination data across a range of GCSE specifications offered by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, this article details the impact of "unaccepted" absence on educational attainment, and explores absence…

The Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (Revised) is reviewed in regard to its application with learning-disabled (LD) adults. Strengths of the revised test are identified as are concerns about the low representation of LD adults in the normative sample and the complex interpretation process. (DB)

Intended for mental health professionals who evaluate hearing impaired children and adolescents, the paper discusses issues of general concern. Areas touched upon include psychological and sociological effects from the hearing impaired subculture, complicating medical and physical disorders, and modification of assessment devices to remove the…

Limitations of grade and age equivalent scores in the educational assessment of handicapped students include unequal variance across content areas, grade and age groups, and encouragement of comparison with inappropriate groups. The author recommends the use of expanded scale scores. (Author/CL)

Discusses three common misconceptions about achievement testing: (1) the idea that men generally outscore women; (2) the notion that the primary role of norms is to compare one student to another; and (3) the misconception that it is not possible to measure the achievement of kindergarten and primary grade students with group tests. (SLD)

A study of 684 individuals yielded special population norms on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales for individuals with autism for mute children under 10, children with some verbal skills under 10, mute individuals who are 10 or older, and individuals with some verbal skills who are 10 or older. (Author/CR)

Presents complete listing and documentation for an Applesoft program which stores test grades for every student, handles 10 different classes, calculates cumulative grade points and percentage grades, grades, drops lowest test grades, generates hard-copy reports, adjusts test scores for a class, and calculates test mean and standard deviation. (JN)

Develops an alternative analysis to the Peabody Individual Achievement Tests' authors' suggested use of a pairwise comparison system to determine when one academic area is significantly different from another. Suggests determining academic strengths and weaknesses relative to a child's average performance on the entire test. (Author/JAC)

Reviews the Test of Written Language--2 (TOWL--2). Finds the test's blending of contrived and spontaneous assessment of students' writing to be a plus. Discusses drawbacks of the test. (RS)

Outlines the rationale, critical dimensions, and techniques for using peer micronorms for determining developmental delays in young children and discusses technical adequacy considerations. Case examples of the use of peer micronorms with preschool children, supplemented with hypothetical data, are used to illustrate the technique. (CR)

Describes the development of "The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: A Strength-Based Approach to Assessment" for use with children with special needs. Reports on several pilot studies conducted to establish the scale's validity prior to the scale being normed on a nationally representative sample. These studies addressed content…

A study explored whether the 95th percentile qualifying score cutoff in use by the Elementary Student Talent Search was appropriate for 2,926 third to sixth graders who took the EXPLORE test. Results indicated participants earn EXLORE scores that are approximately normally distributed and that they compare favorably to eighth-grade norms.…