This paper examines the properties of the Item Efficiency Index proposed by Neill and Jackson (1976; EJ 137 077) for minimum redundancy item analysis. (Author/BW)

Samples of 356 management students and 102 managerial employees were used to assess the hierarchical structure of the Negative Affectivity scale of J. Stokes and I. Levin (1990). Data suggest that a higher-order model is the most satisfactory representation of the underlying structure of the scale. (SLD)

Urry's procedure for approximating latent trait test models is shown to tend to underestimate item discriminatory power and overestimate item difficulty. A method for correcting these biases is provided, and implications of the procedures are discussed. (Author/JKS)

Two procedures for Rasch, sample-free item calibration are reviewed and compared for accuracy. The theoretically ideal "conditional" procedure is impractical for more than fifteen items. The more practical but biased "unconditional" procedure is discussed in detail. (Author/JKS)

A method based on the Poisson approximation to the binomial distribution and on the relation between the Chi-Squared distribution and the Poisson distribution is suggested for selected use in determining the number of items and passing scores in mastery Lests. (Author/RL)

A polychotomous nominal response model-based computerized adaptive test (CAT) was simulated using data from 1,093 University of Texas students. The ability estimation of this model and its overall performance were compared with those of a dichotomous three-parameter logistic model-based CAT. Advantages and drawbacks of nominal response CAT are…

To investigate the effect on item parameter estimation of pooling the raters' ratings and to examine the information content of 2 types of writing samples, the partial credit model was fit to 2,000 writing samples from secondary students that had been holistically scored. Implications for test construction are discussed. (SLD)