Compared four mapping item methods using data from the physical science test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and studied the opinions of science content area experts about the difficulty of the items through a survey completed by 148 science teachers or scientists. Results of model-based mapping methods were more concordant with…

The objective of this research was to examine the comparability of constructs assessed by English and French versions of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The differences in constructs observed in our analyses indicate serious limitations of using TIMSS results for making comparisons that use overall performance in…

The future of test construction for certain psychological ability domains that can be analyzed well in a structured manner may lie--at the very least for reasons of test security--in the field of automatic item generation. In this context, a question that has not been explicitly addressed is whether it is possible to embed an item response theory…

In Manatee County, Florida, not only did they build career tech programs into career academies, but they also developed an evaluation process to ensure these career academies were credible. A District Academic team created the "Documentation of Academy Assessment Criteria" with 12 core components and a rubric that helps evaluators…

In 2002, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) published the report of an independent panel of experts into maintaining standards at Advanced Level (A-Level). One of its recommendations was for: limited experimental double marking of scripts in subjects such as English to determine whether the strategy would significantly reduce errors…

Two new measures to assess spatial ability are presented: the mental cutting test "Schnitte" (Fay & Quaiser-Pohl, 1999; English version: Fay, Quaiser-Pohl, & Ronicke, 2003), a test for selecting people with extraordinary spatial abilities, and the Picture Rotation Test (Hinze, 2002; Hinze & Quaiser-Pohl, 2003), a mental rotation test for preschool…

In this article, the author explains the key differences among three kinds of instructionally relevant tests that can have a huge impact on what goes on in classrooms: "instructionally insensitive tests," "instructionally sensitive tests," and "instructionally informative tests." If educators understand the advantages and limitations of these…

A previous study on the underlying structure of the Wechsler intelligence test (WISC-R; [Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual WISC-R: Wechsler intelligence scale for children-Revised. New York: Psychological Corporation]), using smallest space analysis (SSA) [Guttman, L., and Levy, S. (1991). Two structural laws for intelligence tests.…

Brett Vogelsinger, a high school English teacher, describes his experiences of frustrations of test preparation and the excitement of a good story at the same time. The discovering of drama with eight-graders is a good example of how teachers, novice and veterans can create opportunities for deep and meaningful engagement in all kinds of…

Although cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) can be useful in the analysis and interpretation of existing tests, little has been developed to specify how one might construct a good test using aspects of the CDMs. This article discusses the derivation of a general CDM index based on Kullback-Leibler information that will serve as a measure of how…

McNulty, Harkness, Ben-Porath and Williams recently developed Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory A (MMPI-A). This study examined these new scales in a sample of 545 adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment. Item-level principal components analyses were employed to…

Computer-based testing by credentialing agencies has become common; however, selecting a test design is difficult because several good ones are available - parallel forms, computer adaptive (CAT), and multistage (MST). In this study, three computer-based test designs under some common examination conditions were investigated. Item bank size and…

The valid provision of subscores from an item response theory-based test implies a multidimensional test structure. Assuming, in the construction of a new test, that the test features required for a valid and reliable total test score have been specified already, this article describes the resulting subscore performance and the resulting…

Describes the development and testing of the School Functioning Index (SFI) for middle schools to use in predicting students' violent behavior. The final SFI included nine items and demonstrated good internal consistency and variability. It was modestly correlated in expected directions with violence and other health behavior. Results support the…

This article describes the design and development of the International Test Commission's (ITC, this issue) Guidelines for Computer-Based and Internet-Delivered Testing. It examines some of the reasons why the ITC Council decided to invest in a program of research, consultation, and conferences designed to develop internationally agreed-on…