This dissertation study examined the reliability and validity claims of a modified version of the Spanish Modern Language Association Foreign Language Proficiency Test for Teachers and Advanced Students administered at George Mason University (GMU). The study used the 1999 computerized GMU version that was administered to 277 test-takers via…

The Navy Personnel Research and Development Center is developing a computerized adaptive test (CAT) administration, scoring, and reporting system for use in the selection and classification of military applicants. Scaling of the CAT version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) will produce CAT scores comparable to the current…

Reports that reading performance on a standardized test is better when the text is displayed in print, rather than on a computer display screen. (HOD)

This paper describes the investigation of a computerized measure of reading rate as measured by the new Nelson-Denny Reading Test CD-ROM (1993). This study addressed three aspects of validity: (1) score comparability between reading rate measured by the computer version and the paper-and-pencil version; (2) concurrent validity with reading…

Results of a study that assessed the effect of requiring students to wait for a short time interval before responding to computer-generated multiple choice test items support the notion that moderate delays enhance user performance on cognitive tasks. Three conditions of computer lockout were examined in a university psychology course. (12…

Derivations of several item selection algorithms for use in fitting test items to target information functions (IFs) are described. These algorithms, which use an average growth approximation of target IFs, were tested by generating six test forms and were found to provide reliable fit. (SLD)

Whether gender and administration mode (computer versus pencil and paper) influenced mean scores on four noncognitive psychological instruments was studied with 874 undergraduates. Results show no statistically significant interaction between gender and administration mode, although statistically significant main effects were found for both gender…

A college administered the computer-adaptive ACCUPLACER (College Board, 1995) reading placement test to 399 entering students and its paper-and-pencil version, COMPANION, to 481 students. When the age of the two groups was held constant, no differences were found between the groups. (SLD)

Two new methods have been proposed to determine unexpected sum scores on sub-tests (testlets) both for paper-and-pencil tests and computer adaptive tests. A method based on a conservative bound using the hypergeometric distribution, denoted p, was compared with a method where the probability for each score combination was calculated using a…

Two studies were performed to determine the relationship between cellular phone use and either reaction time or performance among college students. In the first study 60 undergraduates completed a computerized reaction time test. Mean reaction times were significantly higher when participants were talking on a cellular phone, either handheld or on…

The ecological validity of the Conners' Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) was examined using a sample of 206 first- and second-grade children. Children's CPT-II scores were correlated with observations of inattentive/hyperactive behavior during CPT-II administration, observations of children's behavior during analogue academic task,…

This experiment involved college students (N = 464) working on an authentic learning task (writing an essay) under 3 conditions: no feedback, detailed feedback (perceived by participants to be provided by the course instructor), and detailed feedback (perceived by participants to be computer generated). Additionally, conditions were crossed with 2…

Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT Speaking test) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

This paper presents a strategy for measuring cognitive gains in reading during the early school years. It is argued that accurate estimates of gain scores and their appropriate interpretation requires the use of adaptive tests with multiple criterion referenced points that mark learning milestones. It is further argued that two different measures…

The General Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) includes three operational sections that are separately timed and scored. A "no score" is reported if the examinee answers fewer than 80% of the items or if the examinee does not answer all of the items and leaves the section before time expires. The 80%…