Implications of cognitive psychology for educational testing

The purpose of this review is to examine views about learning and the learner grounded in cognitive psychology and to discuss their implications for educational testing. The new perspectives about learning and the learner suggested by cognitive psychology imply changes in educational testing. The first part of this paper compares perspectives about learning and the learner in cognitive psychology with traditional perspectives. The second part describes its implications for educational testing. The goals of educational testing should be the improvement of learning and instruction, achieving these goals in the real society, and a symbiotic relationship between cognitive psychologists and traditionalists in educational testing.