Examined intra- and inter-rater consistency of item performance estimated from an Angoff standard setting over 2 years, with 29 panelists one year, and 30 the next. Results provide evidence that item performance estimates were consistent within and across panels within and across years. Factors that might have influenced this high degree of…

In the traditional Angoff Standard Setting Method, experts are instructed to predict the possibility that a randomly selected, hypothetical minimally competent candidate will be able to answer each multiple choice question in the test correctly. These item performance estimates are averaged across panelists and aggregated to determine the minimum…

Discusses panels for standard setting and presents 10 guidelines for the selection of panel members for such studies. Panel members should themselves hold the license for which they are producing a cutting score, and they must be familiar with the requirements of the profession and the characteristics of the candidates. (SLD)

Issues related to the rationale for standard setting, the standard setting board and its support structure, the content of standards and rules for generating them, and issues that deal with how standards are put to use are areas discussed in the content of a standard-setting effort in accounting. (Author/PN)

Nearly all of the research on standard setting focuses on different standard setting methods rather than the interaction of group members and the instructions given to group members. This study explored the effect of deliberation style and the requirement to reach consensus on the passing score, on rater satisfaction, and on postdecision…

In recent years educators have been utilizing judgmental methods, such as the ones advocated by Ebel and Angoff, to set minimum competency standards on test items. This study was designed to investigate the reliability and validity of these two procedures in setting minimum levels of performance on 175 vocational evaluator competency statements.…

Data from two standard-setting exercises were analyzed using the logistic regression model that assumes no variation in severity of raters, and results were compared with those obtained by logistic regression that allowed for severity variation. Results illustrate the importance of taking between-rater differences into account. (SLD)

A brief summary of standard setting knowledge is presented, derived from about 20 methods that utilize a judgmental review process, the approach most relevant to the standard-setting strategies proposed in this special issue. Criteria for judging effectiveness and critiques of the methods discussed in the issue are offered. (SLD)

Several extensions to the Angoff method of standard setting are described that can accommodate characteristics of performance-based assessment. A study involving 12 panelists supported the effectiveness of the new approach but suggested that panelists preferred an approach that was at least partially conjunctive. (SLD)

The articles of this special issue propose two methods of deriving an initial standard and one method for determining the extent to which the standard should include compensation. Much work remains to be done on further development of the methods and the larger issues of policy regarding performance assessment. (SLD)

The objective of this study was to determine the degree to which recommendations for passing scores, calculated on the basis of a traditional standard-setting methodology, might be affected by the mode (paper versus computer-screen prints) in which test items were presented to standard setting panelists. Results were based on the judgments of 31…

The accuracy of standards obtained from judgmental methods is dependent on the quality of the judgments made by experts throughout the standard setting process. One important dimension of the quality of these judgments is the consistency of the judges' perceptions with item performance of minimally competent candidates. Several interrelated…

A performance-standard setting procedure termed judgmental policy capturing (JPC) and its application are described. A study involving 12 panelists demonstrated the feasibility of the JPC method for setting performance standards for classroom teachers seeking certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (SLD)

The three standard-setting approaches described in this special issue are summarized and contrasted: (1) judgmental policy capturing; (2) the extended Angoff method; and (3) the dominant profile method. An integrative summary of findings is followed by recommendations for modifying the methods. (SLD)

Scores from four samples each of 250 and 1,000 physicians demonstrated that a linear procedure for equating scores and rescaling judges' standards for a certification test could be applied to individual item data gathered through the Angoff standard-setting method. Equated and rescaled values were close to those actually assigned. (SLD)