Using data from the SCRE Criterion Test composition papers, the author tests the hypothesis that the bulk of inter-marker unreliability is caused by inter-marker inconsistency--which is not correctable statistically. He suggests that a shift to "consensus" standards will realize greater improvements than statistical standardizing alone.…

This paper deals with test fairness regarding a test consisting of two parts: (1) a "common" section, taken by all students; and (2) a "variable" section, in which some students may answer a different set of questions from other students. For example, a test taken by several thousand students each year contains a common multiple-choice portion and…