The procedures required to obtain the approximate posterior standard deviations of the parameters in the three commonly used item response models for dichotomous items are described and used to generate values for some common situations. The results were compared with those obtained from maximum likelihood estimation. It is shown that the use of…

Using a computer-based Monte Carlo approach to generate item responses, the results of this study indicate that, when item discrimination indices are considered, item-examinee sampling procedures having the same number of observations have different standard errors in estimating both test mean and test variance. With certain types of tests, a…

Discusses the different strategies employed by three practical nonmetric multidimensional scaling algorithms using Monte Carlo techniques. (Author/RK)

A 1994 report, "Quality Profile for SASS, Aspects of the Quality of Data in the Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS)," presented and summarized the available information about the quality of the data from the five surveys that made up the SASS in its first two rounds of data collection (1987-1988 and 1990-1991). This report updates the…

A comprehensive assessment of the literacy proficiencies of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and Employment Service/Unemployment Insurance (ES/UI) participants was conducted by the Department of Labor. The survey responses of a sample of 2,501 JTPA applicants and 3,277 ES/UI participants were scored, weighted, analyzed, and used to develop a…

This paper provides an overview of common sampling methods (both the good and the bad) likely to be used in community college self-evaluations and presents the results from several simulated trials. The report begins by reviewing various survey techniques, discussing the negative and positive aspects of each method. The increased accuracy and…