The limitations in the methods which are usually used in stage theory test analysis to determine the stage of development of an individual are outlined. Piaget's and Kohlberg's conceptions of moral judgment are presented along with one method of estimating a subject's level of development. The concept of a latent trait is developed. Its…

The report proposes to complete the validation and refinement of a new domain referenced testing technology designed to assess literal comprehension ability in students in grades 1-12. The domain referenced measures in this technology, along with other more traditional measures of reading comprehension, literal and non-literal, are subsequently…

This volume provides a compendium of measures that could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of Head Start enhancements. The focus is on child outcome measures, although measures pertaining to intermediate outcomes related both to changes in the program and changes in the home are included. The authors also review measures and variables…

This study reports on the development, administration, and analysis of a test of collocational knowledge for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners of a wide range of proficiency levels. Through native speaker item validation and pilot testing, three subtests were developed and administered to 98 ESL learners of low-intermediate to advanced…

Item analysis data were collected for the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test, from urban and rural Alberta (Canada) youngsters and Inuit youngsters from the Northwest Territories (Canada). Both tests were inadequate in individual item difficulty levels, suggesting the necessity of revising scoring systems and…

The present study focuses on the task characteristics of reading passages and key sentences in a test of second language reading. Using a new methodological approach to describe variation in test task characteristics and explore how differences in these characteristics might relate to examinee performance, it posed the two following research…

This study investigated the appropriateness of Item Response Theory (IRT) models to analyze language test data. In a university second language institute, results of typical versions of tests of French as a Second Language (n=831 examinees) and of English as a Second Language (n=617 examinees) were subjected to non-linear factor analysis in…

This paper is a preliminary report on the development of alternate forms of an attitude scale to assess parents' and professionals' views toward the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) process, a process evolving as a result of Federal regulations regarding early-intervention services. Development of the set of attitude scales is unique in…

The basic measurement topics of reliability, validity, and norms as they apply to the major norm-referenced cognitive and affective instruments in economics education are discussed to provide researchers with a framework for judging technical quality. Because the topic of measurement is neglected or given improper treatment in much research work…

We describe the item modeling development and evaluation process as applied to a quantitative assessment with high-stakes outcomes. In addition to expediting the item-creation process, a model-based approach may reduce pretesting costs, if the difficulty and discrimination of model-generated items may be predicted to a predefined level of…

This study compares the fit of the 3-parameter model to the Ability Removing Random Guessing (ARRG) model on data from a wide range of tests of cognitive ability in three representative samples. When the guessing parameters under the 3-parameter model are estimated individually for each item, the 3-parameter model yields the better fit to…

This report provides information on test development, test administration, and score interpretation for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The GMAT, first administered in 1954, provides objective measures of an applicant's abilities for use in admissions decisions by graduate management schools. It is currently composed of five…

This report contains the Proceedings of the 1982 Item Response Theory and Computerized Adaptive Testing Conference. The papers and their discussions are organized into eight sessions: (1) "Developments in Latent Trait Theory," with papers by Fumiko Samejima and Michael V. Levine; (2) "Parameter Estimation," with papers by…

In order to take advantage of advances in the field of mental measurement, the Armed Forces and the Department of Defense have supported the development of a computerized adaptive version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) for use in military personnel selection and classification. This report describes the development and…

The manual for administration of the Chinese Proficiency Test contains an overview of the program, including: (1) its history, content, and format; (2) its primary focus and uses; (3) administration procedures, including registration, ordering the test, reporting scores, and billing; (4) the interpretation of test scores based on normative data…