This study was designed to investigate the equivalence reliability between the suggested FITNESSGRAM[R] muscular strength and endurance test, the 90[degrees] push-up (PSU), and alternate FITNESSGRAM[R] tests of upper-body strength and endurance (i.e., modified pull-up [MPU], flexed-arm hang [FAH], and pull-up [PU]). Children (N = 383) in Grades 3…

In many countries, an athlete's performance at sporting competitions is often used as part of the selection criteria for entry into college. These criteria could be biased depending upon the procedures utilized by the authorities in a particular country. The purpose of this study was to calibrate, by using the Rasch rating scale model, the…

The structural validity of the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test was investigated with the test scores of 713 eighth graders who had their first opportunity to take the test in March 1999 in a large urban school district in Ohio. The study examined a hypothetical structure of the test to determine its fit to the data. Confirmatory factor analysis…

A Number of good ideas can help improve the achievement of low-performing students and close the achievement gap, including determining the placement of veteran teachers, purchasing new curricula, and providing after-school tutoring. However, it is the teacher--and what the teacher does in the classroom--that makes the most difference for…

The study's purpose was to extend the research dealing with the influence of grades on student evaluation of teaching (SET). Fifty-four college faculty served as study participants. Discriminate analysis indicated that a student with a higher expected course grade would give a higher SET rating of teaching effectiveness. This finding is consistent…

The Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale (K10) is a brief 10-item questionnaire designed to measure the level of distress and severity associated with psychological symptoms in population surveys. It is being used widely, including in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey, and as a clinical outcome measure, although little…

The calculation of composite indicators and the derivation of respective rankings is a common method used to benchmark countries or regions. However, although the statistical robustness of these rankings is often criticised, they often still spark off heated political debate. Here, we assess the sensitivity of the province ranking published by the…

The present study utilized both the IRT-LR (item response theory likelihood ratio) and a series of CFA (confirmatory factor analysis) multi-sample analyses to systematically examine the relationships between DIF (differential item functioning) and DTF (differential test functioning) with a random sample of 15 000 Korean examinees. Specifically,…

Neuropsychological tests have limited sensitivity in identifying subtle residual cognitive impairments in patients with good medical recovery from head injury and post-concussive syndrome. Detecting and characterizing residual "real life" cognitive difficulties can be problematic for treatment purposes. This study investigated the usefulness of a…

One of the main limitations of the current generation of computer-based tests is its dependency on the multiple-choice item. This research was aimed at extending computer-based testing by bringing limited forms of performance assessment to it in the domain of mathematics. This endeavor involves not only building task types that better reflect…

This document consists of the physics 300 provincial examination (English version), a separate "provincial summary report" on the results of giving the test, and a separate French language version of the examination. This physics examination contains a 53-item multiple choice section and an 12 item free response section. Subsections of…

This paper reports the results of using a three-layer backpropagation artificial neural network to predict item difficulty in a reading comprehension test. Two network structures were developed, one with and one without a sigmoid function in the output processing unit. The data set, which consisted of a table of coded test items and corresponding…

This study focuses on possible factors which contributed to the low mathematics scores achieved by Florida's 11th graders on the 1977 Functional Literacy Test. The authors developed preliminary hypotheses to explain the low scores based upon professional conjecture, analyses of test items, and examination of item data from the October 1977 test…

CSAR (Characteristic Storage And Retrieval) is the name of an interactive item bank system for the storage, retrieval, manipulation, and summarization of information about multiple choice test items. The purpose of the system is to facilitate the test construction process. The system has two main components: one or more item banks and an…

The two conference papers comprising this document address course development and assessment procedures used in distance education at the West German Open University. The first paper, on course design and development techniques used in distance teaching, reviews some of the techniques of course evaluation and course design that have been used in…