At a time when institutions of higher education are exploring alternatives to traditional admissions testing, institutions are also seeking to better support students and prepare them for academic success. Under such an engaged model, one may seek to measure not just the accumulated knowledge and skills that students would bring to a new academic…

The optimum assessment structure measures student knowledge accurately and without bias. In this study, the performance of the first-year undergraduate science students from the University College Dublin was evaluated to test the gender equality of the assessment structure in place. Results of male and female students taking three life science…

Multiple true-false (MTF) items are a widely used supplement to the commonly used single-best answer (Type A) multiple choice format. However, an optimal scoring algorithm for MTF items has not yet been established, as existing studies yielded conflicting results. Therefore, this study analyzes two questions: What is the optimal scoring algorithm…

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) is the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) secondary longitudinal studies. The core research questions for HSLS:09 explore secondary to postsecondary transition plans and the evolution of those plans; the paths into and out of science, technology, engineering,…

Presents both logical and empirical evidence to illustrate that the conventional scoring algorithm for ranking tasks significantly underestimates the initial level of group ability and that Slevin's alternative scoring algorithm significantly overestimates the initial level of ability. Presents a modification of Slevin's algorithm which authors…

Formula score theory (FST) associates each multiple choice test with a linear operator and expresses all of the real functions of item response theory as linear combinations of the operator's eigenfunctions. Hard measurement problems can then often be reformulated as easier, standard mathematical problems. For example, the problem of estimating…

This revised manual for the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) discusses: (1) historical development; (2) item analysis; (3) factor analysis; (4) physical format; (5) general working population norms (ages 18-54); (6) intercorrelations of raw GATB test scores and of GATB aptitude scores; (7) development of norms for specific occupations (tables…

A case study of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE) program was described to assist others launching the development of large scale item banks. FTCE has four subtests: Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Professional Education. Rasch calibrated item banks have been developed for all subtests except Writing. The methods used to…

This study describes intergroup guessing differences in response to tests and to test-like tasks. It is a composite of seven component inquiries with three substudies in Phase 1 and four in Phase 2. These seven studies cover the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) item-type domain from a number of viewpoints relevant to implicit guessing behavior.…

Professional assessment of mental retardation (MR) and learning disabilities (LD) is crucial to the implementation of P.L. 94-142 because it necessarily precedes the employment of trained teachers and because a plan for remediation depends on accurate assessment. Intelligence is a key element in the identification of MR-LD, but competent, fair…

This primer is an introduction to item response theory (also called item characteristic curve theory, or latent trait theory) as it is used most commonly--for scoring multiple choice achievement or aptitude tests. Written for the testing practitioner with minimum training in statistics and psychometrics, it presents and illustrates the basic…