Precision is a key facet of test development, with score reliability determined primarily according to the types of error one wants to approximate and demonstrate. This article identifies and discusses several primary forms of reliability estimation: internal consistency (i.e., split-half, KR-20, a), test-retest, alternate forms, interscorer, and…

Stewart questioned Beglar's use of Rasch analysis of the Vocabulary Size Test (VST) and advocated the use of 3-parameter logistic item response theory (3PLIRT) on the basis that it models a non-zero lower asymptote for items, often called a "guessing" parameter. In support of this theory, Stewart presented fit statistics derived from…

One of the benefits of using collaborative learning is enhancing learning achievement and increasing social skills, and the second benefits is as the more students work together in collaborative groups, the more they understand, retain, and feel better about themselves and their peers, moreover working together in a collaborative environment…

Elementary teacher candidates were pretested and posttested with the Graves Design Judgment Test. Of five approaches to analyzing change, only one, a transformation of posttest divided by pretest expressed in percentage, yielded significance. The hypothesis that a sculpture workshop and field experience would result in greater gains was not…

Supports arguments against general use of change scores and recommends the Lord/McNemar estimates of true change. Provides a numerical example illustrating the reliability problem and the problem of the prediction of true change from various linear composites of initial and final measures. (Author)

The aim of this study was to show that the superiority of corrected-for-guessing scores over number right scores as true score estimates depends on the ability of examinees to recognize situations where they can eliminate one or more alternatives as incorrect and to omit items where they would only be guessing randomly. Previous investigations…

A simulation study was designed to assess the severity of regression effects when a set of selection scores is also used as pretest scores as this pertains to RMC Model A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I evaluation and reporting system. Data sets were created with various characteristics (varying data reliability and…

A computer simulation procedure was developed to reproduce the overall pattern of results obtained in the Educational Testing Service Growth Study. Then simulated data for seven sets of 10,000 to 15,000 cases were analyzed, and findings compared on the basis of correlations between estimated and true growth scores. Findings showed that growth was…

The reliability and the predictive and concurrent validity of the MATAP were investigated with the implicit goal of improving the prediction of course grades in the College of Fine and Applied Arts. It was found that reliability and validity coefficients were low, and it was suggested that the scoring system was a source of error variance. (MS)

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I Evaluation and Reporting System is a method for giving a federally funded project in reading or math an overall score on its cognitive effectiveness. This System introduced the Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) as an aid in aggregating Title I program scores across states and nationwide regardless of…