This study examined the effects of certain item selection methods on the classification accuracy and classification consistency of criterion-referenced instruments. Three item response data sets, representing varying situations of instructional effectiveness, were simulated. Five methods of item selection were then applied to each data set for the…

This teacher's manual describes major ways in which the accompanying Item Bank can be used--that is, for formative evaluation, classroom discussion and investigation, summative tests, suggestions for new subject matter, and as models for multiple-choice questions. Rationale for the use of multiple-choice questions and the parts of a typical entry…

The lack of a suitable research instrument on attitudes of elementary school children toward school and subject matters has limited the quality and extent of research on school attitudes. The Affective Reporting System was conceived to fill this need. It consists of two instruments--ME and What I Like Best (WILB), each possessing two versions:…

Using Guttman's facet design analysis, four parallel forms of a multiple-choice test were developed. A mapping sentence, logically representing the universe of content of a basic cardiology course, specified the facets of the course and the semantic structural units linking them. The facets were: cognitive processes, disease priority, specific…

The appropriateness of the use of the standardized residual (SR) to assess congruence between sample test item responses and the one parameter latent trait (Rasch) item characteristic curve is investigated. Latent trait theory is reviewed, as well as theory of the SR, the apparent error in calculating the expected distribution of the SR, and…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the interaction of item content and group membership on achievement test items. Estimates of the parameters of the three parameter logistic model were obtained on the 46 item math test for the sample of eighth grade students (N = 2055) participating in the Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress,…

Five statistical indices are developed and described which may be used for determining (1) when linear equating of two approximately parallel tests is adequate, and (2) whan a more complex method such as equipercentile equating must be used. The indices were based on: (1) similarity of cumulative score distributions; (2) shape of the raw-score to…

Using estimates of item ease and item discrimination, procedures are provided for computing estimates of the reliability and percentage of failing scores for tests assembled from these items. Two assumptions are made: that the average item coefficient will be approximately equal to the average of the estimated coefficients and that the score…

The one parameter latent trait theory of Georg Rasch has two assumptions: that student abilities can be measured on an equal interval scale, and that the success of a student with a given item is a function of student achievement and item difficulty. The grade four Michigan Educational Assessment Program reading test was designed to measure…

Brief descriptions are provided of general-purpose mathematical and statistical software, including 27 "stand-alone" programs, three subroutine systems, and two nationally recognized statistical packages, which are available in the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory (AFHRL) software library. This index was created to enable researchers…

When survey data are analyzed by computer, a codebook is necessary to show how raw scores are translated to computer-usable form. When data are tabulated by hand, the need for a codebook depends upon the number of respondents, the number and complexity of items, and the types of statistical manipulations required. During the process of coding,…

The Pittsburgh Adjustment Survey Scales were developed to meet the need for the objective evaluation of the social behavior of elementary school-age boys using the observations of classroom teachers. An initial item pool was reduced to 94 items by an extreme-group procedure (202 subjects). A factor analysis (209 subjects) of the inventory resulted…

The literature suggests a "concrete" to "abstract" hierarchy in concept acquisition. However, typical tests do not reflect this hierarchy. Studies have been reported in which an "abstract" option for an item was included in with a "concrete" option and with distractors. This procedure assumes that "abstract" and "concrete" behavior is on a common…

The way in which diagnostic reading test scores were used in planning a remedial program is examined in this report. Among the topics discussed are the administration of a diagnostic test in 13 Irish schools; the organization of a remedial program for students identified as having severe reading problems; weaknesses of diagnostic tests currently…

This study, using the Self-Observation Scales (SOS) primary and intermediate levels, was conducted to determine whether the self-concept items that were most predictive of reading achievement varied among sex-race-grade subsamples and to examine specific item content in order to focus upon the nature of the relationship between reading achievement…