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An Item Discriminability Study of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (Form G, Level 12) Language Skills Test.
Perkins, Kyle; Duncan, Ann – 1988
An item discriminability study of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills Language Skills tests identified test items that are robust discriminators, psychometrically capable of separating low scorers from higher scorers in the language tests battery. The analysis was conducted by calculating a point-biserial correlation for each item on the four language…
Descriptors: Correlation, Item Analysis, Language Skills, Language Tests
The Effect of Passage Topical Structure Types on ESL Reading Comprehension Difficulty.
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Perkins, Kyle – Language Testing, 1992
The effect of five types of topical structure (including initial sentence element, mood subject, and surface subject) on the item difficulty of reading comprehension questions was investigated. Results indicated differences in the item difficulty of questions according to the type of topical structure on which the questions were based. (21…
Descriptors: Difficulty Level, English (Second Language), Language Tests, Models
Using a Facet Design to Assess the Effects of the Form, the Source, and the Frequency of Information Necessary to Answer ESL Reading Comprehension Questions.
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Perkins, Kyle; Brutten, Sheila R. – Language Learning, 1988
Analysis of the keyed responses of items in three English-as-a-Second-Language reading comprehension tests focused on the form and source of information and on the frequency with which the information appeared in the text. Analysis of the results found that these facets were differentially related to the item score at different proficiency levels.…
Descriptors: Context Clues, English (Second Language), Higher Education, Language Proficiency
Predicting Item Difficulty in a Reading Comprehension Test with an Artificial Neural Network.
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Perkins, Kyle; And Others – Language Testing, 1995
This article reports the results of using a three-layer back propagation artificial neural network to predict item difficulty in a reading comprehension test. Three classes of variables were examined: text structure, propositional analysis, and cognitive demand. Results demonstrate that the networks can consistently predict item difficulty. (JL)
Descriptors: Artificial Intelligence, Difficulty Level, English (Second Language), Language Tests
Derivational Complexity and Item Difficulty in a Sentence Repetition Task.
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Perkins, Kyle; And Others – Language Learning, 1986
To estimate reading difficulty of items on a sentence repetition task, a study had 50 adult English as a second language (ESL) students repeat each of 26 sentences immediately after two presentations. High-difficulty items were derivationally more complex than low-difficulty items, and the most difficult items involved the processing of…
Descriptors: Adult Students, Comparative Testing, Difficulty Level, English (Second Language)
A Comparison of Instructional Sensitivity Indices.
Perkins, Kyle – 1984
Instructional sensitivity indices are compared from four perspectives: (1) criterion-referenced testing; (2) classical test theory; (3) item response theory; and (4) Bayesian theory. Instructional sensitivity is defined as the tendency of a test item to vary in difficulty as a function of instruction. The instructional sensitivity of the items in…
Descriptors: Bayesian Statistics, Comparative Analysis, Criterion Referenced Tests, Difficulty Level