There is a need for assessment items that assess complex constructs but can also be efficiently scored for evaluation of teacher education programs. In an effort to measure the construct of teacher attentiveness in an efficient and scalable manner, we are using exemplar responses elicited by constructed-response item prompts to develop…

This article describes a comparative study conducted at the item level for paper and online administrations of a statewide high stakes assessment. The goal was to identify characteristics of items that may have contributed to mode effects. Item-level analyses compared two modes of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) for up to four…

A procedure for checking the score equivalence of nearly identical editions of a test is described and illustrated with Scholastic Aptitude Test data. The procedure uses the standard error of equating and uses graphical representation of score conversion deviations from the identity function in standard error units. (SLD)

Used generalizability theory to assess the variation in school scores across very short test forms that measured mathematics scores in grades 4 and 8. More than 25,000 students took each form of the 3 tests for each grade. Results demonstrate the lack of comparability in school scores across short, nonparallel tests forms and the importance of…

Studied effects of students' use of calculators with 2 experimental forms of a university mathematics test taken by 765 and 725 college students, respectively. Calculator effects are not found for overall scores but are seen for some individual items. Analysis at the item level makes the actual impact apparent. (SLD)