Summarizing work which is part of an Army research program on Methodological Issues in the Construction of Criterion Referenced Tests, the focus of this paper is on a Bayesian model, which gives the probability of correctly classifying an examiner as a master or as a nonmaster while taking into consideration the test length and the mastery cut-off…

Compares classical multiple regression with Bayesian m-group regression, including cross-validation of both methods, in a study to predict first-quarter grade point average in various curricula for community colleges students who had completed developmental studies programs. Finds informal counselor prediction the largest contribution to…

With the increased use of computerized adaptive testing, which allows for continuous testing, new concerns about test security have evolved, one being the assurance that items in an item pool are safeguarded from theft. In this paper, the risk of score inflation and procedures to detect test takers using item preknowledge are explored. When test…

The results of a series of simulation studies designed to investigate the influence of guessing and item pool characteristics on the bias, accuracy, and information properties of the trait estimates derived from Owen's Bayesian sequential testing strategy are reported. (RC)

Effects of dimensionality on ability estimation of an adaptive test were examined using generated data in Bayesian computerized adaptive testing (CAT) simulations. Generally, increasing interdimensional difficulty association produced a slight decrease in test length and an increase in accuracy of ability estimation as assessed by root mean square…

Maximum likelihood and Bayesian procedures are presented for item selection and scoring of multidimensional adaptive tests. A demonstration with simulated response data illustrates that multidimensional adaptive testing can provide equal or higher reliabilities with fewer items than are required in one-dimensional adaptive testing. (SLD)

In this study we report on a test of a method that uses ontologies to individualize instruction by directly linking assessment results to the delivery of relevant content. Our sample was 2nd Lieutenants undergoing entry-level training on rifle marksmanship. Ontologies are explicit expressions of the concepts in a domain, the links among the…

This study assessed internships associated with health education professional programs in the U.S. This study updates findings from an earlier survey published in 1990. Using the 2003 "AJHE" directory of institutions, 255 health education professional preparation programs were identified. Two hundred and eleven institutions had a health…

During the last years, development of open learning environments that support effectively their users has been a challenge for the research community of educational technologies. The open interactive nature of these environments results in users experiencing difficulties in coping with the plethora of available functions, especially during their…

Five issues relative to the use of different Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) models to identify effective schools and teachers were examined using data from all students in the Dallas (Texas) public schools in grade 3 in 1994 and grade 4 in 1995. OLS models using first- and second-order interactions produced…

From the fall of 1981 through June 1984, more than 850 disabled examinees took special administration of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). Grade point averages were obtained on 278 disabled students; 236 had enough complete data to be included in the study. Disabled students earned lower mean GRE scores than their nonhandicapped counterparts…

Comments are made on the review papers presented by six Dutch psychometricians: Ivo Molenaar, Wim van der Linden, Ed Roskam, Arnold Van den Wollenberg, Gideon Mellenbergh, and Dato de Gruijter. Molenaar has embraced a pragmatic viewpoint on Bayesian methods, using both empirical and pure approaches to solve educational research problems. Molenaar…

A conventional verbal ability test and a Bayesian adaptive verbal ability test were compared using a variety of psychometric criteria. Tests were administered to 550 Marine recruits, half of whom received two 30-item alternate forms of a conventional test and half of whom received two 30-item alternate forms of a Bayesian adaptive test. Both types…

A computerized flexilevel test was implemented and its ability estimates were compared with those of a Bayesian estimation based computerized adaptive test (CAT) as well as with known true ability estimates. Results showed that when the flexilevel test was terminated according to Lord's criterion, its ability estimates were highly and…

The focus of this study is on the estimation procedures implemented in BILOG, a computer program. One purpose is to compare the item parameter estimates produced by various procedures available in BILOG. Four different models are used: the one, two, and three parameter model and a three parameter model with common guessing parameters. The results…