This paper describes findings from two studies involving optional use of calculators on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) mathematical items. The first study looked at the effects of calculator use on estimates of item difficulty. The second study looked at the effect of calculator use on equating results from an anchor test design. Study 1,…

In response to the need for internationally comparable student achievement data, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) launched the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA represents a commitment by the members of OECD to monitor the outcomes of education systems in terms of student achievement. This…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is designed to assess progress toward the Delaware Content Standards. Every year a certain number of items are removed from the test and then selected for public release. This booklet contains multiple-choice and short-answer (constructed response) items released from the 2000 or 2001 administration of…

When a test is translated from a source language to a target language, the result is generally not two psychometrically equivalent tests. If the sources of differential item functioning (DIF) across languages could be predicted, this could have important implications for test adaptations. This study examined item revision as a tool for improving…

An instrument to evaluate the effectiveness of constructivist teaching methods, the Constructivist Teaching Inventory (CTI), was developed and assessed, the assessment focusing on the validity and reliability of the instrument. A pool of items measuring the presence of identified elements of constructivist teaching was developed; items were…

A method of item pool design is proposed that uses an optimal blueprint for the item pool calculated from the test specifications. The blueprint is a document that specifies the attributes that the items in the computerized adaptive test (CAT) pool should have. The blueprint can be a starting point for the item writing process, and it can be used…

Middle school data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are analyzed in this study to compare achievement differences between adjacent grades. To facilitate this computer-based analysis, a Statistical Analysis System (SAS) program has been developed to transpose matrices of the item scores in more than 40 countries.…

A 20-item survey was designed in 4 forms with response set direction as "strongly disagree" (SD) to "strongly agree" (SA) and SA to SD crossed with the absence or presence of negatively worded item stems. The primary research question related to finding a primacy effect when comparing the two response direction formats. Surveys…

This volume and its companion, "Part 2," bring together transactions of the Rasch measurement special interest group of the American Educational Research Association. This volume opens with a discussion of the early years in Rasch measurement and then presents the "transactions" in chronological order, from a 1987 discussion…

This volume and its companion, "Part 1," bring together transactions of the Rasch measurement special interest group of the American Educational Research Association. It presents "transactions" in chronological order, from a 1992 discussion through the winter 1995 volume. Four issues of the "Transactions" are…

Methods to control the test construct and the efficiency of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) were studied in the context of a reading comprehension test given as a part of a battery of tests for college admission. A goal of the study was to create test scores that were interchangeable with those from a fixed form paper and pencil test. The first…

This is the College Board's response to Roy O. Freedle's article in the Harvard Educational Review, entitled "Correcting the SAT's Ethnic and Social Class Bias: A Method for Reestimating SAT Scores." It is the authors' view that Freedle has presented no argument that would justify removing or de-emphasizing a critical college success…

Undergraduate students completed a regular class test of 35 multiple-choice items, interspersed with five humorous verbal items written in multiple-choice format or selected syndicated cartoons. A questionnaire revealed that, although student perceptions of test humor were positive, they were less positive about verbal items. (Author/CM)

A three-year research project in England investigated the probability concepts of students aged 11-16. A 26-item test was administered to 2,930 students. The development and test results of one item are presented to illustrate the difficulty of item construction and interpretation. (MNS)

Each of six forms of a 10-item teacher evaluation rating scale, having two to seven response categories per form, was administered to over 100 college students. Means of item responses and item variances increased with the number of response categories. Internal consistency of total scores did not change systematically. (Author/PN)