Translating psychological tests and attitude scales from one language and culture for use in others has been common in the history of educational and psychological assessment. Despite the long history, methods for conducting test and attitude scale translations and establishing equivalence of the multiple versions of an instrument are not…

The validation of key contextual features of algebra word problems was studied in two phases. In the first phase, five experts were asked to assess the appropriateness of the concepts in the problems and the adequacy of the assignment of the contextual features to the problems. In the second phase, construct validity was established by having 6…

This document contains a student assignment book with 22 assignments for a course in food service management and a teacher's guide with answers to the assignments and tips on presenting the lessons to which they pertain. The assignments cover the following topics: career opportunities; entering the food service industry; classifications of…

The functioning of a cognitive taxonomy within the test specifications of an allied health certification examination was studied. The taxonomy used was a simplification of the scheme of B. S. Bloom (1956), in which items were classified as comprehension, application, or analysis. Whether items written purposely to assess higher order cognitive…

Standard and experimental forms of the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundations Analytical Reasoning test were administered to 1,496 clients of the Foundation (persons seeking information about aptitude for educational and career decisions). The objectives were to develop a new form of the test and to better understand what makes some items more…

A multidimensional item response theory (IRT) model for polytomously scored items, based on the graded response model and using the normal ogive, is developed; and an EM algorithm that may be used to estimate the parameters of the model is also discussed. The model is illustrated through a simulation study in which the polytomous item responses of…

A study examined difficulties encountered in producing multiple versions of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) exams administered during a 3-week period to students in the United Arab Emirates University Distance Learning Program for English. The challenges faced in production of the exams included: how to equalize and maintain test item and text…

Students in social studies classrooms frequently find themselves in situations where the information they need to provide in order to have a correct, complete response is not clear. For example, teachers frequently use cue words in questions and directions such as "identify,""describe,""analyze," and…

An alternative to multiple-choice (MC) testing is suggested as it pertains to the field of radiologic technology education. General principles for writing MC questions are given and contrasted with a new type of MC question, the alternate-choice (AC) question, in which the answer choices are embedded in the question in a short form that resembles…

In preparation for a study of essay questions and other forms of open-ended exercises in the California Golden State Examination for biology, the functioning of open-ended biology items in another examination was explored. The Golden State Examination program offers honors credit to students who wish to qualify for admission to programs in…

This study addresses the validation of an oral proficiency test by examining the language that is obtained from the items presented in the test. The study focused on the language elicited by a form of the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI), the Spanish version of the Texas Oral Proficiency Test (TOPT). The TOPT is used to measure the oral…

Traditional tests fall into two categories, both of which have several advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered when determining the type of test to use. Constructed-response tests, such as essay tests, ask students to construct their own responses. Thus, students are required not only to recall but to organize and often apply…

The curriculum guide outline (CGO) developed for the Richland School District One (Columbia, South Carolina) represents a structured effort to coordinate the curriculum across disciplines. The CGO is an outline that guides the total curriculum content of a course and states the level of mastery acceptable for course credit. It has five components…

This drafting criterion-referenced test item bank is keyed to the drafting competency profile developed by industry and education professionals in Missouri. The 12 references used for drafting the test items are listed. Test items are arranged under these categories: drafting room procedures; tools and equipment; basic drawing skills; geometric…

This drafting criterion-referenced test item bank is keyed to the machine shop competency profile developed by industry and education professionals in Missouri. The 16 references used for drafting the test items are listed. Test items are arranged under these categories: orientation to machine shop; performing mathematical calculations; performing…