This paper utilized the Rasch model and Joint Maximum Likelihood Estimation to study different scoring options for omitted and not-reached items. Three scoring treatments were studied. The first method treated omitted and not-reached items as "ignorable/blank". The second treatment, scored omits as incorrect with "0" and left not-reached as blank…

The widely-used Tukey's HSD index is not produced in the current version of SPSS (i.e., PASW Statistics, version 18), and a computer program named "HSD Calculator" has been chosen to amend this problem. In comparison to hand calculation, this program application does not require table checking, which eliminates potential concern on the size of a…

Gaps in achievement test scores continue to exist in students depending upon race, gender, income, and ethnicity according to the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an advocate for public schools. School districts and schools are struggling to close the achievement gap that exists. In the 2010-2011 school years, 34.4% of African American students…

More sophisticated graphing calculators available for college students can be incorporated into college algebra classes to result a higher student achievement. For this purpose, in this study 117 college students were randomly assigned into either experimental groups where students were allowed to the use of graphing calculators or control groups…

This paper addresses two audiences--those who design education trend studies that simultaneously have longitudinal and intercohort implications, and the secondary analysts who use such trend data. Four study series conducted for the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provide material for the paper: the…