This paper describes an approach to item analysis that is based on the estimation of a set of response curves for each item. The response curves show, at a glance, the difficulty and the discriminating power of the item and the popularity of each distractor, at any level of the criterion variable (e.g., total score). The curves are estimated by…

Fisher's information measure for the item difficulty parameter in the Rasch model and its marginal and conditional formulations are investigated. It is shown that expected item information in the unconditional model equals information in the marginal model, provided the assumption of sampling examinees from an ability distribution is made. For the…

Three experiments were undertaken to examine the processing limitations that underlie multiple task performance and, ultimately, to test the theory that there exists a time-sharing ability which is general and can be assessed through the simultaneous presentation of any two or more sufficiently demanding tasks. Subjects were males and/or females…

This paper presents the results of research from Project REALISTIC, a program of research to determine REAding, LIStening and arithmeTIC requirements for jobs; and the feasibility of substituting listening for reading as a means for instructing men of different mental aptitude levels as measured by the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). Two…

An approximate relationship is devised between the unidimensional model used in data analysis and a multidimensional model hypothesized to be generating the item responses. Scale shrinkage is successfully predicted for several sets of simulated data. (Author/LMO)

The effect of using statistical and cognitive item difficulty to determine item order on multiple-choice tests was examined, using 120 undergraduate students. Students performed better when items were ordered by increasing cognitive difficulty rather than decreasing difficulty. The statistical ordering of difficulty had little effect on…

In recent years, assessment data have assumed a more central role education policy and practice. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires states to implement standardized assessment-based systems to evaluate their schools. The NCLB approach rests on the assumption that assessment data can provide credible information to gauge how effectively schools…

The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine whether or not the construction of concept maps by students improves their achievement and ability to solve higher order questions in chemistry, (2) investigate the differential effect of the treatment by gender and achievement level, and (3) explore the relationships between performance on concept…

This analysis involved the ten events of the men's decathlon in all performances which scored 8,000 points or higher, based on the 1962 Scoring Tables of the International Amateur Athletic Federation. It attempted to (1) determine the interrelationships among the events and the final scores, (2) look for areas of difference compared to sub-8,000…

An experiment was carried out on perceived difficulty of a simple attention task. Seven complex stimulus matrices were used, consisting of different numbers of pairs of consonants. The subjects' task was to search for targets determined by the experimenter one by one. Search time was measured as performance criterion. Perceived difficulty of the…

Cliff's Index "c" derived from an item dominance matrix is utilized in a clustering approach, termed extracting Reliable Guttman Orders (ERGO), to isolate Guttman-type item hierarchies. A comparison of factor analysis to the ERGO is made on social distance data involving multiple ethnic groups. (Author/BW)

Fit statistics provide a direct measure of assessment accuracy by analyzing the fit of measurement models to an individual's (or group's) response pattern. Students that lose interest during the assessment, for example, will miss exercises that are within their abilities. Such students will respond correctly to some more difficult items and…

It is a widely held belief that anchor tests should be miniature versions (i.e., minitests), with respect to content and statistical characteristics of the tests being equated. This paper examines the foundations for this belief. It examines the requirement of statistical representativeness of anchor tests that are content representative. The…

A simple device called a "wire labyrinth" was used in an experiment involving learning of a two-hand motor task. The Ss were asked, after completing each of 7 successive trails, to give their estimates of perceived (subjective) difficulty of the task. For this purpose, the psychophysical method of magnitude estimation was used. Time was…