Detecting unusual similarity in the item responses of a pair of examinees usually conditions on the pair's overall test performance (e.g., raw scores). Doing this, however, often requires assumptions about the invariance of other examinee pair characteristics. In this study, we examined the appropriateness of such assumptions about selected…

The study investigated the issue of differential selection of foils (incorrect responses) with Black English structures by black and white examinees. Linguistic research revealed systematic differences between Black English and Standard American English. Grammatical and phonological features were important distinctions. Five categories of Black…