In Fall 1971, three tests were administered to new students at the American University of Beirut. The predictive validity of each of these tests and of weighted combinations of them with GPA and performance in selected courses as criteria are investigated. (RC)

Provides evidence that students perceive test items arranged in a hard-medium-easy order as being easier than the same items arranged in the reverse order, but it was also found that the students' perceptions did not influence the scores. (RB)

Research performed pursuant to a U.S. Office of Education contract, OEC-5-10-154.

This presentation compares the results of a reanalysis of items in one form of a level of the 1978 SRA Achievement Series with the results from the pretest analysis. The bias analyses were performed on white or majority, black, Hispanic, male, and female samples from the pretest and two subsequent samples. Comparisons were made in terms of the…

The logical foundations of deduction and induction are outlined to form the rules for the construction of a set of tests of reasoning ability. Both deduction and induction involve the derivation of a conclusion from a set of premises. Deductive logic uses syllogisms and is abstract. Inductive logic is both empirical and abstract. Although…

A method of investigating for possible bias in test items is proposed that uses analysis of variance for item data based on groups that have been selected to have identical test score distributions. The item data used are arcsin transformations of item difficulties. The methodological procedure has the following advantages: (1) The arcsin…

This report analyses justifications gathered in a series of studies which led intellectually normal infants' school and nursery school children and mildly mentally retarded special day school children to acquire conservation understanding. Two hundred and five children were given a pretest of number, mass, length, liquid, and weight conservation.…

A Job Descriptive Index was studied for possible bias by examining item-item curves for various pairs of items computed for contrasting samples. The two pairs of contrasting samples were 669 part-time workers versus 920 full-time workers and 486 male workers versus 1,146 female workers in a large merchandising company. Item-item curves were…

Since fall 1976, an undergraduate measurement class has utilized a 32K microcomputer programmed in APL to present replicate sets of questions randomly selected from 80-question item pools representing each of three domains of knowledge based on Sax's Principles of Educational Measurement and Evaluation. Multiple choice questions are presented on a…

A proficient item writer should possess several attributes: knowledge and understanding of the material being tested, continuous awareness of objectives, continous awareness of the instructional model, understanding of the students for whom the items are intended, skill in written communication, and skill in the techniques of item writing. The…

Angoff's method for identifying possible biased test items was applied to four computer-generated hypothetical tests, two of which contained no biased items and two of which contained a few biased items. The tests were generated to match specifications of a latent trait model. Angoff's method compared item difficulty estimates for two different…