Instructors who develop classroom examinations that require students to provide a numerical response to a mathematical problem are often very concerned about the appropriateness of the multiple-choice format. The present study augments previous research relevant to this concern by comparing the difficulty and reliability of multiple-choice and…

The purpose of the investigation was to obtain some relationships among (1) test lengths, (2) shape of domain-score distributions, (3) advancement scores, and (4) several criterion-referenced test score reliability and validity indices. The study was conducted using computer simulation methods. The values of variables under study were set to be…

To aid in the construction of effective task analysis inventories, this technical report discusses: (1) an optimum questionnaire length that adequately covers Marine tasks without unduly fatiguing respondents; (2) procedures for the phrasing of task statements to avoid ambiguities and be understandable to as broad a range of Marines as is…

This project is concerned with the development and implementation of some new statistical techniques that will facilitate a continuing input of information about the student to the instructional manager so that individualization of instruction can be managed effectively. The source of this informational input is typically a short…

Reviewing psychometric and statistical developments in criterion- referenced testing, this paper presents six sections: uses of criterion- referenced test scores, reliability of criterion-referenced test scores, determination of test length, determination of cut-off scores, test development and validation, and summary and suggestions for further…

The initial development of a testlet-based algebra test was previously reported (Wainer and Lewis, 1990). This account provides the details of this excursion into the use of hierarchical testlets and validity-based scoring. A pretest of two 15-item hierarchical testlets was carried out in which examinees' performance on a 4-item subset of each…

This paper provides an overview of the types of testing accommodations used for students with disabilities and presents arguments for and against their use. It begins by discussing student participation in educational assessments and federal requirements concerning the participation of students with disabilities. The types of accommodations are…

In order to make an intelligent advance in any school practice a knowledge of what schools are doing in that practice is almost indispensable, since a transition in procedures must be a growth from the one to the other. This bulletin gives this background of facts concerning the use of tests and examinations by the different subject departments in…

This brochure offers a plan to help college students study for tests. It explains how to prepare for a test and reviews techniques for taking multiple choice, essay, and other types of examinations. Organization, planning, and time management are essential for becoming a successful student. Regular reviews are the key to reducing test anxiety and…

Writing teachers and educators can add to information from large-scale testing and teachers can strengthen classroom assessment by creating a tight fit between large-scale testing and classroom assessment. Across the years, large-scale testing programs have struggled with a difficult problem: how to evaluate student writing reliably and…

This study investigates the effects of increasing the test time to reduce the speededness of the verbal and quantitative experimental sections of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test. In December 1976, at approximately 550 domestic test centers, 20- and 30-minute versions of a verbal experimental test and of a quantitative…

In this study, simulated and actual Air Force test data were used to compare the different procedures for equating mental tests: conventional (equipercentile and linear), Item Response Theory (IRT), and strong true-score theory (STST); data collection designs used were single-group, equivalent-groups, and anchor test. Equating transformations were…

Viewing the reliability for criterion-referenced tests as that of mastery classification decisions, three models for determining reliability were examined using two test administrations so that two estimates could be compared to a standard. A major purpose of the research was to determine how several reliability coefficients (coefficient kappa, an…

Monte Carlo simulation was used to investigate score bias and information characteristics of Owen's Bayesian adaptive testing strategy, and to examine possible causes of score bias. Factors investigated in three related studies included effects of item discrimination, effects of fixed vs. variable test length, and effects of an accurate prior…

Four different procedures were used for estimating the proportion of persons who would be classified consistently as either passing both of two parallel tests or failing both. These four methods were applied at each of four different mastery level scores for each of three different length tests. Data were based on 50 replications of each procedure…