The effects were assessed of a test coaching program for urban Black youth, who intended to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), on their performance on quantitative items. Findings for 116 program participants are discussed in relation to the improvement of supplemental instructional programs. (TJH)

Two alternatives to traditional item analysis and reliability estimation procedures are considered for determining the difficulty, discrimination, and reliability of optional items on essay and other tests. A computer program to compute these measures is described, and illustrations are given. (SLD)

Describes an objective test used as the comprehensive examination in a graduate library school and discusses its advantages over essay tests. The topics covered include test construction, the use of item analysis for scoring and test revision, and student reactions to the objective test. (1 reference) (CLB)

Effects of instructional coverage variations on item characteristic functions were examined, using eighth-grade data from the Second International Mathematics Study (1985). Although some differences in item response curves were large, better performance was not necessarily related to greater learning opportunity. Item curve response differences…

The reliability and validity of a cloze procedure used as an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) test in China were improved by applying traditional item analysis and selection techniques. The 'best' test items were chosen on the basis of item facility and discrimination indices, and were administered as a 'tailored cloze.' 29 references listed.…

The reliabilities of 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-choice tests were compared through an incremental-option model on a test taken by 154 high school seniors. Creating the test forms incrementally more closely approximates actual test construction. The nonsignificant differences among the option choices support the three-option item. (SLD)

Describes assessment of children's social behavior using Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) and an item analysis protocol (IAP). Examines relationships among mother and father pairs, teacher SSRS ratings, and descriptions of kindergarten through 4th-grade students. Finds mothers' and fathers' SSRS frequency and importance ratings for their…

Examines error gravity research design and its theoretical assumptions. Results indicate that investigators have only skimmed the surface of the process of error evaluation, which is shaped by extralinguistic factors. The article concludes that researchers should reconceptualize error gravity research and reassess earlier studies to confirm or…

Analyzed the surveys completed by 9,765 students from the Davis County, Utah, School District to determine patterns of response. Item analysis suggested that students responded with reliability and validity. Some items were more defensible than others for conceptual and empirical reasons. (Author/SLD)

Each January since 1997, "Education Week," the K-12 industry's newspaper of record, has issued its "Quality Counts" report, ranking states by, among other things, the "equity" of their school finances. On the other hand, every fall since 2001, the "Education Trust," a national organization devoted to closing the achievement gap in public schools,…

Many children read mathematics word problems and directly translate them to arithmetic operations. More sophisticated problem solvers transform word problems into object-based or mental models. Subsequent solutions are often qualitatively different because these models differentially support cognitive processing. Based on a conception of problem…

Across a variety of disciplines and areas of inquiry, reliable and valid measures are a cornerstone of quality research. This is the case because to have confidence in the findings of our studies, we must first have confidence in the quality of our measures. This article briefly reviews the literature on scale development and provides an empirical…

Using an abbreviated version of Levenson's (1981) locus of control scale, we examine change over time in the locus of control of displaced steelworkers. The first data collection occurred approximately six months after plant shutdown, the second occurred a year later. Utilizing a multidimensional measurement model, we test the major assumption…

The lack of support for mental health-related projects by private philanthropy, even among those that express an interest in mental health, is due in large part to the subjectivity of the grant review process. To address this problem, Whaley, Rodriguez, and Alexander developed the Grant Proposal Rating Form (GPRF) to make the grant review process…

The main purpose of the current research was to develop an abbreviated form of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) with nonparametric item response theory. The authors conducted 5 studies, with a total participation of 8,256 married or cohabiting individuals. Results showed that the item characteristic curves behaved in a monotonically increasing…