This paper presents results from a comparison of the multiple regression (MR) approach to examining faculty salary equity (with clusters for the various disciplines) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) for the same problem. The comparison was done in two steps. First, a practical example of applying both techniques, using empirical data, is…

Test security has often been a problem in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) because the traditional wisdom of item selection overly exposes high discrimination items. The a-stratified (STR) design advocated by H. Chang and his collaborators, which uses items of less discrimination in earlier stages of testing, has been shown to be very…

In the a-stratified method, a popular and efficient item exposure control strategy proposed by H. Chang (H. Chang and Z. Ying, 1999; K. Hau and H. Chang, 2001) for computerized adaptive testing (CAT), the item pool and item selection process has usually been divided into four strata and the corresponding four stages. In a series of simulation…

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of selected methodological factors on the validity of conclusions from reliability generalization (RG) studies. The study focused on four factors; (1) missing data in the primary studies; (2) transformation of sample reliability estimates; (3) use of sample weights for estimating mean…

This paper explores political engagement in an increasingly difficult and troubled world by focusing on how U.S. college students participate in the largest simulation of the United Nations (UN) organization in the United States. The purpose of the paper is to explore what is done in the National Model UN (NMUN) program, its impact on the lives…

In this paper, six statistical tests of stochastic equality are compared with respect to Type I error and power through a Monte Carlo simulation. In the simulation, the skewness and kurtosis levels and the extent of variance heterogeneity of the two parent distributions were varied across a wide range. The sample sizes applied were either small or…

When normality does not hold, nonparametric tests represent an important data-analytic alternative to parametric tests. However, the use of nonparametric tests in educational research has been limited by the absence of easily performed tests for complex experimental designs and analyses, such as factorial designs and multiple regression analyses,…

A study was conducted to investigate whether augmenting the calibration of items using computerized adaptive test (CAT) data matrices produced estimates that were unbiased and improved the stability of existing item parameter estimates. Item parameter estimates from four pools of items constructed for operational use were used in the study to…

Analyses of data from operational course placement systems are subject to the effects of truncation; students with low placement test scores may enroll in a remedial course, rather than a standard-level course, and therefore will not have outcome data from the standard course. In "soft" truncation, some (but not all) students who score…

The robustness of the polytomous Item Response Theory (IRT) model to violations of the unidimensionality assumption was studied. A secondary purpose was to provide guidelines to practitioners to help in deciding whether to use an IRT model to analyze their data. In a simulation study, the unidimensionality assumption was deliberately violated by…

A study was conducted to extend the sequential probability ratio testing (SPRT) procedure with the polytomous model under some practical constraints in computerized classification testing (CCT), such as methods to control item exposure rate, and to study the effects of other variables, including item information algorithms, test difficulties, item…

A training game provides for active participation in training using a gaming apparatus specifically designed for the achievement of a training objective. The most valuable characteristic of this kind of teaching device is the scope afforded for independent progress. (DS)

This paper summarizes the findings of a research project that was designed to assess the utilization of computer simulation models in the administration of higher education. (Author)

Twenty-four company position models were developed as career-cluster office experience materials. Each contained a student-employee kit and a teacher-supervisor kit. These occupational models were flexible, good substitutes for cooperative programs, and particularly helpful to the less-than-average ability student. (AG)