We examined how ACT® Aspire® (from grades 8 to 10), PreACT® (from grade 10), and ACT® test scores (from grades 10 and 11) relate to students' chances of scoring a 3 or higher as well as 4 or higher on selected Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Data for the study was available for 49,220 students from 318 high schools who had taken at least one AP…

This publication describes the methods and procedures used for the 2017-18 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC). It also provides information that will be helpful to analysts in accessing and understanding the restricted-use files containing the NPSAS:18-AC data. NPSAS:18-AC includes cross-sectional,…

This is the technical appendix for the report "Gaining Momentum: Refining Corequisite Learning Support to Boost Student Success in the First Year and Beyond" which seeks to develop a body of actionable information about how to refine learning support, close equity gaps, and promote strong momentum toward success for community college…

This study investigated the direct and indirect relationships between participating in a learning community, student engagement, and self-reported learning outcomes. Using a sample of 241 freshmen at a single urban research university who took the "College Student Experiences Questionnaire," the results indicate that after controlling…

The primary objective of this study was to find the smallest sample size for which equating based on a random groups design could be expected to result in less overall equating error than had no equating been conducted. Mean, linear, and equipercentile equating methods were considered. Some of the analyses presented in this paper assumed that the…

The benefits of item response theory (IRT) will only accrue to a testing program to the extent that model assumptions are met. Obtaining accurate item parameter estimates is a critical first step. However, the sample sizes required for stable parameter estimation are often difficult to obtain in practice, particularly for the more complex models.…

This paper focuses on methodological issues in applying equipercentile equating methods to pairs of tests that do not meet the assumptions of equating. This situation is referred to as a concordance situation, as opposed to an equating situation, and the end result is a concordance table that gives "comparable" scores between the tests.…

The function of Mantel-Haenszel (MH) and logistic regression (LR) statistics with real data in detecting gender-based differentially functioning items (DIF) was investigated when sample size and criterion variable varied. The data base consisted of the item responses of a population of 183,356 Caucasians to the Math test of the ACT Assessment…

This report addresses the problem of sample size in developing prediction equations for college freshman grade averages under the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment Program. For the ACT Assessment, the prediction weights are estimated by standard least squares procedures. Because prediction weights are estimated regression coefficients…

This paper demonstrates the relationship between the concept of unidimensionality and direction of an item in a multidimensional space. The basic premise is that if items that measure in the same direction are combined to form a test, that test will meet the item response theory requirements of unidimensionality. This will be true even if the…