Test item selection techniques based on traditional item analysis methods were compared to techniques based on item response theory. The consistency of mastery classifications in criterion referenced reading tests was examined. Pretest and posttest data were available for 945 first and second grade students and for 1796 fourth to sixth grade…

Techniques such as the norm-referenced and average score techniques, commonly used in the identification of educationally disadvantaged students, are critiqued. This study applied latent trait theory, specifically the Rasch Model, along with teacher judgments relative to the mastery of instructional/test decisions, to derive a standard setting…

The Rasch model for test analysis is described and compared with two-parameter and three-parameter latent-trait models. Conditional maximum likelihood equations for estimating item parameters are derived, and estimates of person parameters are described together with their confidence intervals. Goodness of fit tests are discussed, including a…

Latent trait model calibration procedures were used on data obtained from a group testing program. The one-parameter model of Wright and Panchapakesan and the three-parameter logistic model of Wingersky, Wood, and Lord were selected for comparison. These models and their corresponding estimation procedures were compared, using actual and simulated…

Among the new testing developments are the use of objectives or goals in instruction, competency based approaches to instruction, criterion referenced testing, and performance oriented testing. These new approaches often emphasize individualized learning; each student's progress is individually monitored by comparison with clear statements of what…

A project was conducted to evaluate the industrial sewing instructional materials used in South Carolina secondary home economics programs to determine the extent to which they enabled students to achieve the cognitive performance skills and tasks incorporated in the curriculum. Procedures used in the evaluation were the following: (1) the first…

These nine articles discuss and offer suggestions for various aspects of language teaching. In "Learning Foreign-Language Phonology: You Can't Hear It If You Can't Say It," Victor W. Mason reviews the literature supporting the proposition that accuracy of articulation is required for aural discrimination. In "Teaching Scanning," James Herbolich…

Relationships between item bias, item difficulty invariance, Rasch tests of item fit, and item position in a speeded 72-item Michigan State University Vocabulary Placement Test were investigated using 143 black males, 289 black females, 2,953 white males and 3,271 white females. Measures of item bias and item difficulty invariance were determined…

This collection contains 17 objectives and related test items for bookkeeping, grades ten through twelve. The first ten objectives represent the bookkeeping cycle: journalizing, posting, preparing a trial balance, preparing a financial statement from the worksheet, making closing entries, balancing and ruling accounts, and preparing and…

This catalogue of student competencies, gleaned from 10,000 competency statements developed by secondary school districts, is designed to allow flexibility at the local level. Districts are free to adopt or modify this set of graduation competencies by following a six-step process: organize, orient a task force, identify priority competency…

This handbook is designed to assist teachers in using the Science Item Bank to construct diagnostic tests and end-of-course achievement tests. The item bank consists of over 2,800 multiple-choice items, and teachers are encouraged to supplement this source of test items with other forms of test questions. Key answers to these questions are arrived…

The extent, causes, and importance of context effects on item parameters for one- and three-parameter latent-trait models were examined. Items were taken from the California Achievement Tests Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Concepts and Applications subtests. The reading items were administered to 1,678 fourth-grade students, and the…

Two aspects of criterion referenced testing are discussed: cutting scores and test length. Several practices in determining passing scores are enumerated: (1) setting passing scores so that a predetermined percent of students pass; (2) inspecting each test item to determine how important it is that it be answered correctly; (3) determining the…

The historical background of mastery learning is discussed and related to the use of the traditional normal curve and to the nature of curves which express more adequately the mastery learning concept. It is suggested that the mastery model calls for strategies that: inform students about course expectations; set standards of mastery in advance;…

Describes an analysis of test items used to measure the science process skills of 11-year-olds in Great Britain. Concludes that the level of cognitive demand was a reliable predictor of the difficulty of an item. (TW)