Seventy-eight special-education students (ages 8-13) and 403 typical students took a large-scale statewide test using standard test administration procedures and two major accommodations addressing response conditions and test administration. No differences were found in the response conditions; however, students with disabilities who were read a…

Seven different short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Revised (WAIS-R) were compared in a mixed clinical sample of 306 adults to evaluate short form predictions of the full scale IQ. The seven-test short form of C. Ward (1990) was the best predictor across ranges of intellectual functioning, supporting its use when time is limited.…

Validity and reliability were calculated from data in the standardization sample of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised for 565 proposed short forms. Time saved in comparison with use of the long form was estimated. The most efficient combinations were generally those composed of subtests that were quick to administer. (SLD)

The calculations of D. Schretlen, R. H. B. Benedict, and J. H. Bobholz for the reliabilities of a short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (WAIS-R) (1994) consistently overestimated the values. More accurate values are provided for the WAIS--R and a seven-subtest short form. (SLD)

Describes an easy-to-administer test of productive vocabulary that requires subjects to produce a set of word association responses to a small set of stimulus words. Argues that such a test might tap the extent of nonnative speakers' productive vocabulary more effectively than other tests in current use. (Author/VWL)

In international large-scale surveys, constructed response (CR) items are increasingly being used and multiple-choice (MC) items are being used less frequently. In this article the two item types will be compared in terms of any differences they have on national mean scores. TIMSS 1995 and TIMSS 1999 data have been used. Are there different…

This dissertation study examined the reliability and validity claims of a modified version of the Spanish Modern Language Association Foreign Language Proficiency Test for Teachers and Advanced Students administered at George Mason University (GMU). The study used the 1999 computerized GMU version that was administered to 277 test-takers via…

Active learning, which entails any class activity that "involves students doing things and thinking about the things that they are doing," stands as an important pedagogical practice. Discussion, the types of questions faculty ask students in class, role playing, cooperative learning, debates, and the types of questions faculty ask on examinations…

Girls consistently out perform boys in mathematics in Hawai'i. Starting from the premise that literacy is a prerequisite for mathematics learning, a causal model was proposed to account for gender differences in mathematics on multiple choice (MC) and constructed response (CR) items in conjunction with the effects of reading and writing. Two…

This study examined the multiple true-false (MTF) test format in second language testing by comparing multiple-choice (MCQ) and multiple true-false (MTF) test formats in two language areas of general English: vocabulary and reading. Two counter-balanced experimental designs--one for each language area--were examined in terms of the number of MCQ…

This booklet presents the Reading Framework for the 1992 and 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which contains the rationale for the aspects of reading assessed and the criteria for the development of the assessment. The booklet notes that the new reading assessment examines students' abilities to construct, extend, and…

The equivalence of pencil and paper Rasch item calibrations when used in a computer adaptive test administration was explored in this study. Items (n=726) were precalibarted with the pencil and paper test administrations. A computer adaptive test was administered to 321 medical technology students using the pencil and paper precalibrations in the…

In the periodic testing environment associated with conventional paper-and-pencil tests, the frequency with which items are seen by test-takers is tightly controlled in advance of testing by policies that regulate both the reuse of test forms and the frequency with which candidates may take the test. In the continuous testing environment…

A simulation study was performed to determine whether a group's average percent correct in a content domain could be accurately estimated for groups taking a single test form and not the entire domain of items. Six Item Response Theory (IRT) -based domain score estimation methods were evaluated, under conditions of few items per content area per…

Many textbooks in educational measurement and classroom assessment have chapters devoted to specific item formats. There may be attempts to relate one item format to another, but the chapters and item formats are largely seem as distinct entities with only loose and uncertain connections. This paper synthesizes these discussions. An item format…