The potential of a cognitive model task analysis scheme (CMS) that specifies features of test problems shown by research to affect performance is explored. CMS describes the general skill area and the generic task or problem type. It elaborates features of the problem situation and required responses found by research to influence performance.…

Designed to be a tool for curriculum and instructional development consistent with assessment of the state objectives in reading, this teaching and testing guide provides a summary of the skills that should be considered instructionally and how each objective is tested. Information is included on state objectives for reading teachers for grades 7…

The procedures projected to be used in the spring and summer of 1982 to establish passing standards for the Maryland Functional Mathematics Test are described. The development of the test as a prerequisite for high school graduation to be implemented in 1987 is described. The maximum involvement of diverse constituencies and multiple informed…

The MTA PLATO-based evaluation system, which has been implemented by a consortium of schools of medical technology, is designed to be general-purpose, modular, data-driven, and interactive, and to accommodate other national and local item banks. The system provides a comprehensive interactive item-banking system in conjunction with online student…

To examine the issue of item bias within the context of the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R), judgments as to perceived item bias were sought. Independent raters nominated 53 WAIS-R items as containing possible bias. White and non-white college students nominated items as racially or sexually biased. Whereas 10 items were judged…

This paper reports a multi-method approach for examining the cognitive level of multiple-choice items used in a medical pathology course at a large midwestern medical school. Analysis of the standard item analysis data and think-out-loud reports of a sample of students completing a 66 item examination were used to test assumptions related to the…

Each of the three studies in this report examines a different aspect of the basic question of what the four item types (analogies, antonyms, reading comprehension, and sentence completion) on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) verbal section are measuring and of whether a change in the relative emphasis on the various item types would enhance the…

This Graduate Record Examination (GRE) study assesses: (1) the relative contribution of a vocabulary score (consisting of GRE General Test antonyms and analogies) and a reading comprehension score (consisting of GRE sentence completion and reading comprehension sets) to the prediction of self-reported undergraduate grade point average (GPA); and…

The learning objectives for writing skills contained in this volume are congruent with Texas law. These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for teachers and test developers involved with the preparation of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) tests. Beginning with the 1985-86 school year, the TEAMS…

The purposes of this study were to determine if there is a significant difference in postsecondary business student scores and test completion time based on settable test item exposure control interface format, and to determine if there is a significant difference in student scores and test completion time based on settable test item exposure…

Replicating a 1978 study of methods of setting cut-off scores in standardized tests for student placement, the Rasch model was used to estimate ability levels and item difficulty for use in determining the probability of course success. Community college students were administered the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Tests and items were…

This self-paced correspondence course for independent study in electricity was adapted from military curriculum materials for use in vocational education. This basic course is designed to provide the student with some fundamentals of electricity--not with specific job skills. The seven lessons of the course each have a lesson assignment sheet with…

Text, illustrations, and exercises are utilized in a set of five learning modules designed to instruct college faculty and education students in selected instructional development skills, the characteristics of adult learners, and the effects of frequently abused drugs. The first module, "How to Write Structured Response Test Items" by…

A comparative study of item analysis was conducted on the basis of race to determine whether alternative test construction or processing might increase the proportion of black enlisted personnel among those passing various military technical knowledge examinations. The study used data from six specialists at four grade levels and investigated item…

Test items and procedures for administering and scoring individual tests of second and fifth grade reading and mathematics are presented. The major purpose of this individual testing is validation of the group tests which make up the battery of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES). Five mathematics tasks, involving a set of blocks, have…