The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the scores students earned on multiple choice tests and the number of minutes students required to complete the tests. The 5 tests were made up of 20 randomly drawn questions from a large pool of questions about research methods. Students were allowed an unlimited amount of time…

This study was designed to compare the accuracy of three commonly used ability estimation procedures under the graded response model. The three methods, maximum likelihood (ML), expected a posteriori (EAP), and maximum a posteriori (MAP), were compared using a recovery study design for two sample sizes, two underlying ability distributions, and…

A simple scheme is proposed for smoothly approximating the ability distribution for relatively long tests, assuming that the item characteristic curves (ICCs) are known or well estimated. The scheme works for a general class of ICCs and is guaranteed to completely recover the theta distribution as the test length increases. The proposed method of…

The Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI) consists of 150 items in its original form. For practical and economical reasons, seven shorter versions formed from the 150 items and based on previous studies were tested on their validity and discrimination value. Responses of 90 teacher trainees, who in 1982 were enrolled at the Institute of…

A computer simulation was undertaken to determine the effects of using Huynh's single-administration estimates of the decision consistency indices for agreement and coefficient kappa, under conditions that violated the beta-binomial assumption. Included in the investigation were two unimodal score distributions that fit the model and two bimodal…

The purpose of this study was twofold: to investigate to what extent characteristics of anchor tests may affect precision of item calibration, and to estimate to what extent precision of item calibration may be affected by removal of persons whose response patterns deviate from those normally expected from the Rasch one-parameter logistic model.…

A classical problem in mastery testing is the choice of passing score and test length so that the mastery decisions are optimal. This problem has been addressed several times from a variety of viewpoints. In this paper, the usual indifference zone approach is adopted, with a new criterion for optimizing the passing score. Specifically,…

Tailored testing increases the efficiency of tests by individually selecting for each person a set of items from an item pool so that the difficulty of the items selected will be such as to maximize the information provided by the score. The tailored testing procedure designed by Cliff orders persons and items on a common ordinal scale and…

A shortened version of Zaichkowsky's 20-item Personal Involvement Inventory was created, removing four items which might be difficult to understand for noncollege-educated populations. The 16-item modified version had acceptable internal consistency; test-retest reliability; and factorial and predictive validity. (Author/GDC)

This study examines a score-difference model for the detection of cheating based on the difference between two scores for an examinee: one based on the appropriate scoring key and another based on an alternative, inappropriate key. It argues that the score-difference method could falsely accuse students as cheaters. (Author/JAZ)

Techniques for constructing short forms of tests are discussed, and an example is given using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. Reliability and validity estimation equations are presented. (GDC)

It is argued that the tendency to omit items is a deviant response characteristic. Three studies using a self-actualization measure are outlined. Persons who omitted items did so because of fatigue, confusion with some items, unpreparedness to disclose information, and/or because they may not trust the researcher with certain information.…

A study was conducted to compare, with simulated unidimensional and two-dimensional sets, the Type I error probabilities and rejection rates obtained with two versions of the LISREL computer program, the earlier version PRELIS/LISREL 7 and the later version PRELIS2/LISREL8, a version that corrects the asymptotic covariance matrix. Unidimensional…

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (Dunn and Dunn) is described as a convenient, quick test, possessing improvements over the original. It measures a subject's receptive (hearing) vocabulary for Standard American English. However, the validity information for the test is less than adequate, since no validity studies are presented for it.…

A new method was developed to assist in the selection of a test length by utilizing computer simulation procedures and item response theory. A demonstration of the method presents results which address the influences of item pool heterogeneity matched to the objectives of interest and the method of item selection. (Author/PN)