Cut-score setting processes are used to establish the passing standards for all kinds of tests in education and for credentialing. While experts use their best efforts to guide cut-score setting processes to generate valid and reliable results, cut-score participants often have a difficult time understanding the standard at which the cut score is…

When Item Response Theory (IRT) is operationally applied for large scale assessments, unidimensionality is typically assumed. This assumption requires that the test measures a single latent trait. Furthermore, when tests are vertically scaled using IRT, the assumption of unidimensionality would require that the battery of tests across grades…

Multiple factors have influenced testing agencies to more carefully consider the manner and frequency in which pretest item data are collected and analyzed. One potentially promising development is judges' estimates of item difficulty. Accurate estimates of item difficulty may be used to reduce pretest samples sizes, supplement insufficient…