The Mantel-Haenszel procedure (MH) is a practical, inexpensive, and powerful way to detect test items that function differently in two groups of examinees. MH is a natural outgrowth of previously suggested chi square methods, and it is also related to methods based on item response theory. The study of items that function differently for two…

This study assesses the accuracy of ASCAL, a microcomputer-based program for estimating item parameters for the three-parameter logistic model in item response theory. Item responses are generated from a three-parameter model, and item parameter estimates from ASCAL are compared to the generating item parameters and to estimates produced by…

A study examined the nature of the questions contained in two major standardized reading comprehension tests in terms of their centrality to the text. It was hypothesized that the use of a discrimination index for item selection would tend to favor relatively trivial questions. Half the reading selections from the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test…

In a study of the usefulness of the Rasch model for examining tests for possible bias, 102 native Spanish-speaking and 104 native English-speaking preschool four-year-olds in a remedial education program were administered Spanish and English versions of the Cooperative Preschool Inventory, a standardized measure of school readiness, The Rasch…

Sixty subjects participated in an experiment involving estimation of difficulty of items in a test of reasoning ability. The estimates were to be given both according to conventional conditions of magnitude estimations with a preassigned comparison standard and according to a modified procedure of magnitude estimation where the comparison standard…

Five-hundred dichotomously scored response patterns were generated with sequentially independent (SI) items and 500 with dependent (SD) items for each of thirty-six combinations of sampling parameters (i.e., three test lengths, three sample sizes, and four item difficulty distributions). KR-20, KR-21, and Split-Half (S-H) reliabilities were…

Four new methods of item analysis were used to select subsets of items which would yield measures of attitude change. The sample consisted of 263 students at Michigan State University who were tested on the Inventory of Beliefs as freshmen and retested on the same instrument as juniors. Item change scores and total change scores were computed for…

A 30-item multiple-choice word analogy test and a corresponding 30-item picture analogy test (in which the pictures corresponded to the words in the word analogy test) were administered to 289 Civil Service employees. The equivalence of semantic (word) and figural (picture) test presentation of the same items was determined by comparing the…

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative robustness of the one-, two-, and modified two-parameter latent trait logistic models for the Iowa Tests of Educational Development. Results suggest that the modified two-parameter model may provide the best representation of the data. (Author/BW)

Argues that, in determining if a standardized test task and a classroom performance task are the same, educators should carefully analyze the tasks in terms of the input modality (stimulus) and the output modality (response). (FL)

Test data from two diverse culture groups were analyzed to determine the agreement among four methods of detecting item bias (transformed difficulty, discrimination differences, chi-square, and item characteristic curve). The test battery contained 155 items from six subtests: vocabulary, reading comprehension, mathematics, letter groups,…

Classical item analysis and Rasch latent trait analysis were applied to the responses of a sample of undergraduates to two measures concerning alcoholism. Little difference in terms of practical considerations was found between the methods. (JKS)

Comparison of college freshman performance on two different forms of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (n=684, 692) found a lack of equivalence between forms and low internal consistency reliability. It is suggested that, although the test may be useful for research, it is not appropriate for decision making about individual students.…

As testing moves from paper-and-pencil administration toward computerized administration, how to present tests on a computer screen becomes an important concern. Of particular concern are tests that contain necessary information that cannot be displayed on screen all at once for an item. Ideally, the method of presentation should not interfere…

Librarians rely on the Institute for Scientific Information's journal impact factor as a tool for selecting periodicals, primarily in scientific disciplines. A current trend is to use this data as a means for evaluating the performance of departments, institutions, and even researchers in academic institutions--a process that is now being tied to…