Vol. 11, No. 2 December 2001 TESTING INTERNATIONAL Editor: Anita M. Hubley PRESIDENT EDITOR’S NOTE 2 Professor David Bartram SHL Group PLC The Pavilion PRESIDENT’S LETTER 2 1, Atwell Place Thames Ditton Surrey, KT7 0SR United Kingdom BRIEF ARTICLES PRESIDENT-ELECT Professor Bruce Bracken College of William and Mary • Challenges of Test Coaching for Assessment 4 School of Education Norman Abeles (U.S.A.) P.O. Box 8795 Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795 U.S.A. • The Measurement of Relational Knowledge by Item SECRETARY Professor Jacques Grégoire Response Theory Techniques: Some Preliminary Results 6 Université catholique de Louvain Faculté de Psychologie Salvador Algarabel (Spain) Place du Cardinal Mercier, 10 1348-Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium REPORTS TREASURER Professor Em. Barbara M. Byrne School of Psychology • Update on the International Journal of Testing 7 University of Ottawa 145 Jean-Jacques Lussier Bruno D. Zumbo (Canada) Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1N 6N5 PAST-PRESIDENT • Progress on the Testing Movement in Iberian-Latin Professor Thomas Oakland American Countries 8 College of Education University of Florida Solange Wechsler (Brazil) P.O. Box 117047 Gainesville, FL 32611-7047 U.S.A. • Portuguese News in Psychological Assessment 8 COUNCIL MEMBERS Professor J. Muñiz Aura Montenegro (Portugal) Oviedo University, Spain Professor Cheryl Foxcroft University of Port Elizabeth, South THE NOTICEBOARD Africa Ms. Patricia Genat NCS, Australia Dr. Marise Born • ITC Treasurer, Prof. Em. Barbara Byrne, Receives Award 9 Free University, The Netherlands Dr Iain Coyne University of Hull, UK • New Abstract Submission Deadline for International REPRESENTATIVES Professor Ronald K. Hambleton Conference on Computer-Based Testing and the Internet 9 (IAAP) University of Massachusetts, U.S.A. Professor John G. Adair (IUPsyS) University of Manitoba, Canada • Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment: An EDITORS Upcoming SAGE Publication 10 International Journal of Testing Professor Bruno D. Zumbo Dept. of ECPS 2125 Main Mall • Key Figures Pass Away: Anne Anastasi and Lee Cronbach 11 University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z4 UPCOMING CONFERENCES ON TESTING AND ASSESSMENT 11 Testing International Dr. Anita M. Hubley Dept. of ECPS 2125 Main Mall University of British Columbia OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z4 OF THE INTERNATIONAL TEST COMMISSION 2 EDITOR’S NOTE PRESIDENT’S LETTER Anita M. Hubley Prof. Dave Bartram University of British Columbia SHL Group CANADA U.K. Dear Friends: Dear ITC Members: I’d like to welcome you to our new look for the In my previous report (May 2001), I started with a International Test Commission Newsletter which reminder of the following four areas I had has been renamed Testing International. The new identified as priorities during my two years as design is meant to make it easier for you to find the President: articles, reports, and notices in which you are interested. 1. A project to develop guidelines for the use of computer-based tests. In particular, to A new feature in Testing International that I’d develop guidelines covering good practice like to highlight is Brief Articles. In each issue, in the use of the Internet for testing. several brief articles focusing on topical issues in 2. Development of the ITC website as a key testing and assessment will be presented. information and advice centre about tests Although many of these will be invited pieces, I and testing. encourage ITC members and other researchers to 3. Work with the European Federation of consider submitting a brief article to future issues Psychologists Associations (EFPA) on the of Testing International. development of test review criteria and exploration of the possibility of Another key aspect of Testing International is the coordinating a technical 'benchmarking' Reports section. I’d like to encourage ITC review process for tests. members to continue to submit reports on topics, 4. ITC involvement in and sponsorship of events, and accomplishments in testing and conferences and symposia on testing assessment that have taken place within their issues. country or region. Over the past six months, progress on all these In an effort to further increase the international fronts has continued. content within Testing International, I would like to hear from any ITC members (particularly in 1. Guidelines on Computer-based Testing underrepresented regions such as Africa, Middle East, Asia, Central and South America, and Work has continued on this project. I am delighted Australia/Oceania) who might be interested in to announce that my colleague in this undertaking, acting as a liaison to (1) inform me of events of Dr Iain Coyne (Hull University, England), has interest to the ITC that they hear about regarding been co-opted onto the ITC Council for this year. their region (e.g., national or international projects Iain will be contributing to the ITC Conference in or announcements, conferences or relevant Winchester and will be working with me on presentations at conferences), (2) recommend developing some outline guidelines relating to topics of interest that may appear in future issues, good practice in computer-based testing and CBT and (3) suggest potential invited submissions or applications on the Internet. encourage the submission of information to the ITC Newsletter from their country or region. Over the past few months I have presented papers on this topic in Australia, South Africa, the USA, I hope you will view Testing International as a Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the forum for discussion and the exchange of Netherlands. From the reactions to the ideas put information about knowledge, issues, and advances forward in those sessions, the issues that need to be in testing and assessment internationally. addressed by guidelines in this area are becoming clearer. …cont’d 3 2. ITC Website 2. Prof Wim J. van der Linden. Psychometric solutions for practical The new ITC website (http://www.intestcom.org) problems in computerized adaptive testing has now had over 3000 visitors. We are using it as 3. Prof Ron Hambleton. Computer-based test the main focus for publicity regarding the designs and item formats for the next forthcoming ITC Conference. generation of tests 4. Prof Dave Bartram. Good practice issues 3. Work with EFPA: Test Review Criteria in managed CBT over the internet. The EFPA Committee on Tests and Testing and In addition, Prof Jose Muñiz and I chaired a joint the ITC Council discussed the EFPA project on ITC/EFPPA Round Table Discussion. The aim of test reviewing when they met this summer. The this was to discuss a range of emerging issues EFPA Committee approved the review criteria and relating to test use arising from globalisation and guidance on reviewing and a number of European the increasing use of the Internet for assessment countries are now exploring the use of these delivery. The discussion explored a wide range of criteria for local use. issues concerned with maintenance of good practice, test standards and test quality, and the We are continuing to monitor the progress EFPA is need for international controls over matters such as making in this area. The issue of a technical copyright, data protection and security. 'benchmarking' review process for tests is one that is emerging as a priority issue in relation to The International Journal of Testing Internet-based testing. It will be one of the topics addressed at the Winchester ITC Conference. As you will be aware from the previous Newsletter, we have been experiencing some 4. Involvement in and Sponsorship of Conferences difficulties in the launch of the new Journal due to and Symposia a range of problems faced by the original Editor, Dr Norbert Tanzer. However, the first two issues The major task here continues to be the have appeared, and work on the remaining issues organisation of next year's ITC Conference in of Volume 1 is well advanced under the Winchester (see below). stewardship of our new editor, Dr Bruno Zumbo. ITC Council members were strongly represented While we regret the delays that have been incurred amongst the presenters in a number of different in getting these issues to our members, we are symposia at the London European Congress this determined that we will, over the coming year, summer. The ITC Symposium was on the catch up on this so that we will be back on track in International Implications of New Technology for terms of timing as Volume 2 comes out. Testing. Amongst the issues addressed during the symposium were: The ITC Guidelines on Test Use • the challenges the new technologies pose Dissemination of the Guidelines has continued for use with unsophisticated users; with more translations becoming available. In my last letter I said that I hoped by the time the next • the potential afforded by new technology Newsletter is printed, we would have the media for applying advances in Guidelines available in at least three or four more psychometrics testing technology; new languages. At the time I wrote that, there were • the issue of what constitutes ‘good four languages available. We now have eight practice’ in remote testing and what languages available, including English, with all dangers need to be guarded against. (except Danish) accessible from the ITC website. In addition to English, there are now ITC approved The presenters were: versions in Dutch/Flemish, German, Slovenian, South American Spanish (Argentina), Spanish and 1. Prof Cheryl Foxcroft. CBT challenges Swedish. Other translations are continuing to be relating to technologically unsophisticated carried out. test-takers in multilingual contexts 4 I look forward to welcoming you all to the The ITC Winchester Conference: June 12-15, 2002 Winchester Conference and to the ITC General Meeting in Singapore. This has been by far my main pre-occupation over the past six months, and will continue to be so Dave Bartram ([email protected]) through the remaining months of my Presidency.