The reliability of Mantel-Haenszel (MH) indexes across samples of examinees and sample sizes and their robustness to item context effects were investigated with data for 670 African-American and 5,015 white students from the Second International Mathematics Study. MH procedures can be used to detect differential item functioning. (SLD)

Evaluates the measurement equivalence of an English-language version of the Trier Personality Inventory, using statistical methods based on item response theory to identify items displaying differential item functioning (DIF). Results with 295 U.S. and 213 West German undergraduates and 203 U.S. college students indicate significant agreement in…

This review of research on assessment of second-language listening abilities looks at some testing issues and challenges (assessing higher-level skills, confounding of skills, assessing listening in oral interaction, authenticity), discusses assessment methods and techniques (test administration, item formats), and considers potential applications…

I see much to be pleased with in Dorans' interesting response to my article, "Correcting the SAT's Ethnic and Social-Class Bias: A Method for Reestimating SAT Scores." However, I need to deal with several unstated assumptions and errors that underlie his presentation. In the process of enumerating his covert assumptions, I will take up…

Many significant changes in perspective have to take place before efforts to learn the content and capabilities of children's minds can hold much sway in educational testing. The language of testing, especially of high stakes testing, remains firmly in the realm of "behaviors", "performance" and "competency" defined…

The transition from paper-based to computer-based assessment raises a number of important issues about how mode might affect children's performance and question answering strategies. In this project 104 eleven-year-olds were given two sets of matched mathematics questions, one set on-line and the other on paper. Facility values were analyzed to…

This article provides renewed converging empirical evidence for the hypothesis that asking test-takers to respond to text passages with multiple-choice questions induces response processes that are strikingly different from those that respondents would draw on when reading in non-testing contexts. Moreover, the article shows that the construct of…

This paper provides a summary of the authors' attempts to uncover links between their measures, classroom mathematics instruction, and student learning. This paper also provides evidence regarding one central critique of their measures: that multiple-choice assessments cannot validly represent the knowledge, skills, and judgment involved in actual…

The development and validation of a test of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) proficiency are described. The measure is a multiple-choice test based on translation of a literary text from English to Arabic and vice versa. Intended for rapid student placement, it is seen as overcoming most of the defects inherent in traditional translation tests.…

The methodology that has been used over the past 5 years to develop and implement the Parent Survey of the Department of Defense Dependents' Schools (DoDDS), known as the "Report Card from DoDDS Parents," is described. The focus is not on survey results, but on the processes and procedures used to design appropriate instruments, distribute and…

This teacher's guide contains 13 units of instruction for a course that will prepare students with the entry-level competencies needed by a surgical technologist. The course covers the following topics: introduction to surgical procedures; diagnostic procedures; general surgery; gastrointestinal surgery; obstetrics and gynecological surgery;…

Writers of mathematics test items, especially those who write for standardized tests, are often advised to arrange the answer options in logical order, usually ascending or descending numerical order. In this study, 32 mathematics items were selected for inclusion in four experimental pretest units, each consisting of 16 items. Two versions…

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is the new Massachusetts state assessment program that is being implemented in response to state education reform legislation. The paper describes the early efforts of the state Department of Education (MDOE), its prime contractor for development of the MCAS (Advanced Systems in Measurement…

This study is based on data from a state-wide assessment that included both multiple-choice and constructed-response items. The intent of the study was to see whether item types make a difference in gender results. The items on both tests were categorized according to whether they assessed procedural knowledge, concepts, problem solving, or…

The equating of reasonably parallel forms of College Board Achievement Tests in biology, chemistry, mathematics level II, American history and social studies, and French is discussed. Results of the following five equating methods are compared: (1) Tucker; (2) Levine equally reliable; (3) Levine unequally reliable; (4) frequency estimation…