This paper overviews technical developments in data analysis procedures for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading data during 1984. The highlight of the reshaping of the NAEP data has been the scaling using item response theory (IRT). AT this point in the data analysis, an IRT-based scale appears appropriate for reading…

This module contains resource materials to help vocational education teachers construct effective written tests. (The materials supplement the videotape on "Written Test Construction.") Materials in the packet include guidelines for developing written tests in general and specific guidelines for the five major types of test items, brief…

This report describes the procedures used to construct and validate the Standardized Test of Computer Literacy (STCL), a criterion-referenced instrument designed to assess students' computer literacy. Following a statement of the study problem and purpose, a description of the study methodology outlines the use of a 12-step model for development…

Field tests of test items are useful in developing cutting scores for important tests, such as teacher certification examinations and high school graduation tests, because they indicate test item quality and estimate future examinee performance. However, field test data may provide a faulty indication of examinee performance on the real test.…

This document reports the findings of an evaluation of the Family Day Care Training and Accreditation Program, a voluntary program for family day care providers in San Antonio, Texas. The program consisted of eight training workshops, home visits, and a validation. Workshop topics included: space to play and learn, health and safety, growth and…

The comparative effects of various sequences of test items were examined for over 900 graduate students enrolled in an educational research course at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. experiment, which was conducted a total of four times using four separate tests, presented three different arrangements of 50 multiple-choice items: (1)…

A sample of slightly over 1500 students from even numbered grades in public schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands were given the 1973 edition of the Stanford Achievement Test (in grades 2, 4, 6, and 8) and the Test of Academic Skills (in grades 10 and 12) in an attempt to assess student academic achievement in the basic skill areas of mathematics,…

This study reports a preliminary investigation into the relationship of different subsets of student attitudes toward economics. A 49-item attitude form was developed with six subscales representing distinct aspects of attitudes toward economics: (1) satisfaction with current grasp of economics; (2) capability for understanding economics; (3)…

The use of a three-parameter logistic model for applying latent trait theory has become more popular because of the availability of computer programs. The program Logist 5 can be used not only for the item parameter estimation in the three-parameter logistic model, but also in the two parameter logistic model by setting the third parameter equal…

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of the adaptations of The Program for Assessing Youth Employment Skills (PAYES) and the Iowa Career Education Inventory are proposed to assess the impact of career education for the handicapped student. Evidence is offered for the conceptual compatibility of the Iowa instrument with Brolin's, Johnson's and…

A random sample of October, 1979, test sites was selected to assess the potential bias of the ACT Assessment. From this sample, sites which tested at least five Anglos and five Hispanics were included; the final sample contained a total of 876 students (403 Anglo and 373 Hispanic). Using the primary hypothesis, "There is no interaction…

To examine the issue of item bias within the context of the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R), judgments as to perceived item bias were sought. Independent raters nominated 53 WAIS-R items as containing possible bias. White and non-white college students nominated items as racially or sexually biased. Whereas 10 items were judged…

This paper reports a multi-method approach for examining the cognitive level of multiple-choice items used in a medical pathology course at a large midwestern medical school. Analysis of the standard item analysis data and think-out-loud reports of a sample of students completing a 66 item examination were used to test assumptions related to the…

This manual is designed to assist faculty members at the University of North Dakota (UND) in the construction, scoring, and analysis of their classroom tests. A computer program is described which will assist staff in test scoring and analysis. The program was developed by the author in the Office of Medical Education and Evaluation of the…

This Graduate Record Examination (GRE) study assesses: (1) the relative contribution of a vocabulary score (consisting of GRE General Test antonyms and analogies) and a reading comprehension score (consisting of GRE sentence completion and reading comprehension sets) to the prediction of self-reported undergraduate grade point average (GPA); and…