This paper discusses the theoretical scope and practical applicability of generalizability (G) theory through the principle of symmetry. Major ideas are summarized and factors hindering applications of G theory in research conducted in French-speaking Europe are presented. The principle of symmetry affirms that any factor of a design can be…

This paper describes the development of the Basic Educational Skills Test (BEST) in the Austin Independent School District. In 1982 future options for the AISD minimum competency program, which requires all students to meet minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics before graduation, were evaluated against legal and local criteria. It…

Four item bias methods were studied. The methods compared include the Mantel-Haenszel statistic, the plot method, the route mean squared difference method, and the total area method; the latter two methods are based on item response theory. The test consisted of item responses of 451 male and 486 female ninth graders to 75 test items on the 1985…

This paper describes the development of a language arts test to assess the consistency of student response patterns and the feasibility of using the test to diagnose students' misconceptions. The studies were part of a project to develop computerized adaptive testing for the language arts with software to diagnose student errors. The…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the item characteristics of the General Educational Development Tests (GED) for specific subgroups of students. The method employed was the approach suggested by Linn and Harnisch in which the three-parameter logistic model is used for detecting interactions between item content and group…

Whether judges on bias review committees can identify test items that function differently for black and white examinees was studied. Judges (n=42) on three bias review committees were asked to examine a set of items and predict differential item functioning (DIF) without empirical data. Test items from teacher certification tests in the content…

This study sought to determine the cognitive levels of questioning of end-of-chapter test items accompanying selected fifth-grade science textbooks. The extent to which test items emphasized high level questioning and significant differences among texts in the distribution of knowledge and above-knowledge-level test items were also investigated.…

This study examined and refined a mathematics skills instrument used to predict success in an introductory statistics course and to measure improvement in mathematics skills. Alternate forms of a 28-item true-false test were administered as a pretest and posttest to 18 undergraduate and 19 graduate students enrolled in introductory educational…

Studies carried out over a 12-year period addressed fundamental questions on the use of Rasch-based item banks. Large field tests administered in grades 3-8 of reading, mathematics, and science items, as well as standardized test results were used to explore the possible effects of many factors on item calibrations. In general, the results…

The mathematics portion of the 1975-76 and the 1977-78 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing program represented a departure from the earlier mathematics assessment: in addition to surveying the cognitive domain, items were included which related to the affective component of learning mathematics. Although these questions were…

The National Teacher Examination (NTE) validation and cut score determination procedures for use in teacher certification in Arkansas are discussed. The NTE area examinations to be validated were selected by the Arkansas Department of Education, which compared the state's certification requirements with the NTE's rationale, content, and scope…

In 1983, four screening tests for assigning students to the appropriate levels of the Stanford Achievement Test, Seventh Edition, were developed with a national sample of hearing impaired students. While students are normally assigned to one of six test level booklets according to grade, this is inappropriate for certain students. This paper…

A national random sample of over 14,000 high school seniors was studied with respect to socio-cultural differences in responses to cognitive test items. Six different cognitive tests and ten different groups were analyzed. The tests were: vocabulary, picture-number, reading, letter-groups, mathematics, and mosaic comparisons. The groups were:…

This book is a survey of all the modern language examinations in the United Kingdom at "GCE"'O' level, Scottish 'O' grade, and "CSE" Mode 1, available in 1979 in French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, as well as the "16+" examination offered by a consortium of boards in the north of England. It is an attempt…

Two new scoring methods for the Nurses' Professional Orientation Scale (NPOS) were developed and tested to advance the assessment of professional socialization. These methods were based on: traditional versus nontraditional view of nursing (internal consistency of .81); and practicing nurses' view of nursing (internal consistency of .88). A total…