The potential of item response theory (IRT) for solving a number of testing problems in the Maryland Functional Reading Program would appear to be substantial in view of the many other promising applications of the theory. But, it is well-known that the advantages derived from an IRT model cannot be achieved when the fit between an item response…

The 1986 scores from the Statewide Student Assessment Test-II, a minimum-competency test required for high school graduation in Florida, were placed on the scale of the 1984 scores from that test using five different equating procedures: (1) linear method; (2) Rasch model; (3) three-parameter item response theory (IRT)--concurrent method; (4)…

California Assessment Program's application of matrix sampling and item response curve theory to the scaling and reporting of state assessment data is described. It is designed to express educational outcomes in an efficient and interpretable form that is both immediately informative and suited to analysis over extended periods of time.…

This study investigated the feasibility of the use of the three-parameter item response theory (IRT) model in Florida's minimum competency testing program. The paper includes the following sections: (1) a description of the procedures currently being used by the assessment program, with an emphasis on procedures currently involving the Rasch…

This study investigated the feasibility of using the three-parameter model in Florida's minimum competency testing program. LOGIST 4 was used to analyze 1984 Statewide Student Assessment Tests (SSAT)-II data, exploring possibilities that easiness of the test would cause problems in the estimation of the a and c parameters. These problems and…