The Rasch model of test theory is described in general terms, compared with latent trait theory, and shown to have interesting applications for the measurement of affective as well as cognitive traits. Three assumption of the Rasch model are stated to support the conclusion that calibration of the items and tests is independent of the examinee…

To investigate the effect of violating the assumption of equal item difficulty on Kuder-Richardson (KR) Formula 21 reliability coefficient, 670 eighth-and ninth- grade students were administered 26 short, homogeneous "tests" of mathematics concepts and skills. Both KR Formula 20 and KR Formula 21 were used to estimate reliability on each…

Super's Career Development Inventory (CDI) was adapted to Brazilian culture and applies in a sample of 1048 students of Guanabara State's high schools. Since its purpose is to observe a maturation process, the CDI was administered to the two last grades of grade school and the first two grades of high school, where the students have from seven to…

A series of computer programs to handle natural language retrieval and analysis in a manner analogous to that of a statistical package is discussed. The document presents an overview of several language analysis projects currently underway, and of several research approaches to problems in language analysis. The manner in which the Language…

Although methods for estimating item difficulty are abundant, little attention has been given to the psychological processes involved when a student responds to a single test item. Mastery of educational objectives is not proven when a student supplies the correct answer to items intended to test these objectives. The student's problem solving…

This paper will discuss the results of a series of computer simulations comparing the Rasch logistic model to a series of models departing to various degrees from its assumption of equal discrimination power for all items. The results have implications for test construction and test scoring, indicating how closely the conventional raw score…

Present definitions of the criterion-referenced test are discussed, insufficiences noted, and a new definition proposed. Some examples of criterion-referenced tests are examined and used to educe some general principles for the development of such tests. The utility of item form processes is assessed. It is suggested that the difficulty of…

The object of this project was to develop a culture-fair, nonverbal individual readiness test for disadvantaged preschool children. Two equivalent forms of the test were developed so that teachers could administer the first form to identify needs early in a preschool program, set up specific remedial programs for individuals, and use the second…

The Course Attitude Questionnaire (CAQ) has been administered 100,000 times in 3,500 classes at the Pennsylvania State University since 1964 with extensive use in modified form at other institutions. The purpose of this research was to investigate the reliability and internal validity of the CAQ and the temporal stability of its original factor…

This booklet was designed to provide inservice teachers with a self-contained manual for use in writing and/or improving classroom achievement tests. Following a preface and an introduction, the contents are divided into four sections: Practicality, preface and an introduction, the contents are divided into four sections: Practicality,…

This experiment was designed to assess the ability of item writers to construct truly parallel tests based on a "duplicate-construction experiment" in which Cronbach argues that if the universe description and sampling are ideally refined, the two independently constructed tests will be entirely equivalent, and that within the limits of item…

Based on a rationale provided by Helson's adaptation level theory it was predicted that students would perceive items arranged in a hard-medium-easy order as being easier than the same items arranged easy-medium-hard. The evidence presented in this study generally confirmed the preceding conjecture, but also found the Ss' perceptions did not…

Improved differential assignment of Navy recruits to schools and jobs would be possible if a wider range of aptitudes and interests could be measured without unduly lengthening the time used in testing. The purpose of the study was to make a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of a computerized item selection program, program sequin, for…

Bayes Theorem leads to three indexes of item effectiveness: 1) probability that an examinee knows the content given that the correct response was selected; 2) probability that an examinee does not know that content given that an incorrect response was selected; and 3) probability of making a correct decision about the examinee's knowledge given…

There are many potential sources of test bias besides that of the particular item content within the test. The other potential sources, designated here as program and utilization must also be encompassed in any thorough and effective program to increase the accuracy of assessment for members of ethnic minorities. As usual, the research findings…