This study, one of a series designed to answer practical questions about performance based assessment, examined the comparability of school scores on short, nonparallel test forms. The data were obtained from mathematics tests with both multiple choice (MC) and performance assessment (PA) items. The tests were administered in a statewide testing…

Created a developmental scale for the North Carolina End-of-Grade Mathematics Tests using a subset of identical test forms administered to adjacent grade levels with Thurstone scaling and Item Response Theory methods. Discusses differences in patterns produced. (Author/SLD)

This paper compares the decision-making strategies which have been incorporated in the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments in Georgia and the Assessments of Performance in Teaching developed for use in South Carolina. Although both instruments are designed for use with beginning teachers, the decision-making structure of these two…

This paper addresses problems with performance on open-ended (i.e., not multiple choice) test questions administered on paper for students accustomed to writing with computers. The first section summarizes the results of three studies that examined differences between computer and paper-and-pencil test results. The second section identifies three…

For several decades, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) held the preeminent role in measuring student and school performance in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois. In the context of the No Child Left Behind act and new calls for accountability, the CPS has decided to include results from the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) in…