The terms interactive and dynamic would never have been associated with
psychological and psychoeducational assessment a generation ago. They
have currency now because of widespread dissatisfaction with the
normative, standardized testing model, criticism of theoretical concepts
of intelligence, recognition of abuses of standardized intelligence
testing, and frustration with prediction and classification as primary
goals of assessment. It is almost certainly true that public policy
concerns propel scientific activity far more often than science propels
public policy! In the case of psychological assessment, public policy
concerns have arisen in the last 20 years primarily around issues of
possible "discrimination" against members of ethnic minorities. At the
same time, there has been a re- surgence of dedication to "excellence in
education" goals. These concerns have led to such extreme measures as
prohibition of the use of standard- ized intelligence tests to determine
school placement decisions, especially for minority children. They have
led also to a search for alternatives to standardized, normative
testing. The chapters in this volume represent a variety of answers to
this need.