Multimedia and Internet technologies are reshaping the practice of learning and skills assessment. We propose to develop a battery of computerized tests to be targeted at 5th, 8th, and 10th grades that will provide a comprehensive measure of student health knowledge and decision making skills. The questions will take the form of rich dramatized multimedia simulations in which a series of decisions and observations must be made. The questions will be administered using the Computer Performance Based Assessment system developed by Videodiscovery, Inc. During Phase I, a skills matrix, an online engine, and six prototype events were developed. In Phase II, a comprehensive item bank will be created, tested, and validated. The proposed assessment will provide specific diagnostic information that will help health educators fine tune instruction for individual students and that will help administrators adjust and evaluate the effectiveness of programs. The program will also be used in the classroom as a learning tool giving students the chance to explore risky behaviors and their results. The program can be switched by the teacher from a purely assessment form to an assessment plus teaching format.
