In an Angoff standard setting procedure, judges estimate the probability that a hypothetical randomly selected minimally competent candidate will answer correctly each item in the test. In many cases, these item performance estimates are made twice, with information shared with the panelists between estimates. Especially for long tests, this…

The purpose of this study was to consider the efficacy and popularity of "Virtual Lectures" (text-based, structured electronic courseware with information presented in manageable "chunks", interaction and multimedia) and "e-Lectures" (on-screen synchrony of PowerPoint slides and recorded voice) as alternatives to traditional lectures. We…

We compared two formats for optional study sessions offered to students in a research methods course. Study sessions alternated between a game format (e.g., Behavioral Jeopardy) and a student-directed question and answer format, presented in counterbalanced order across different sections of the same course. The results of the alternating…

The purpose of this study was to provide information concerning the possible early effects of smoking on measures of respiratory capacity and control in young adult female smokers vs. nonsmokers. In particular, maximum performance test results (vital capacity and maximum phonation time) and measures of air pressures and airflows during voiceless,…

The No Child Left Behind Act sanctions the use of NAEP scores to confirm state testing results. The U.S. Department of Education, as test developer, is responsible to set forth how NAEP scores are to be interpreted and used. Thus far, the Department has not published a clear set of guidelines for using NAEP achievement level scores to conduct a…

More than one-fifth of the nation's public school students are Latino. By 2025, the share of Latino children is projected to increase to nearly 3 in 10 school-age children (Fry & Passel, 2009). The fast-growing Latino student population will shape the nation's future, so it is critical that these students are well-prepared for college,…

The results of administering the Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) to introductory astronomy students at Henry Ford Community College over three years have shown gains comparable with national averages. Results have also accurately corresponded to course goals, showing greater gains in topics covered in more detail, and lower gains in topics covered…

High-stakes testing has emerged as a central feature of the educational landscape in primary and secondary schools in the United States. Despite this prominence, there is a paucity of guidance available to practitioners on how they can best make predictions about student performance based on available test data. While achievement gaps based on…

Many credentialing agencies today are either administering their examinations by computer or are likely to be doing so in the coming years. Unfortunately, although several promising computer-based test designs are available, little is known about how well they function in examination settings. The goal of this study was to compare fixed-length…

This paper studies whether equating results can be improved if the variable that accounts for all systematic differences between equating populations is identified and used as an anchor in anchor test design or as a variable on which to match equating samples. The sample invariant properties of four anchor test equating methods (Tucker and Levine…

Outreach mathematicians are college faculty who are trained in mathematics but who undertake an active role in improving primary and secondary education. This role is examined through a study where an outreach mathematician introduced the concept of complex variables to junior high school students in the United States with the goal of stimulating…

To graduate from High School in the state of Texas students must pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Many states are beginning to administer state exams as requirements for graduation. Schools continue to fall short of the basic philosophy of Existentialism that emphasizes, "starting where the student is".…

The effectiveness of smoothing in reducing random errors in equipercentile equating of a short writing assessment with two raters, two prompts, with scores ranging from zero to five was examined. Thirteen methods were examined: no equating, three presmoothing, three postsmoothing, three combination presmoothing and postsmoothing, mean equating,…

A Bayesian approach for simultaneous optimization of test-based decisions is presented using the example of a selection decision for a treatment followed by a mastery decision. A distinction is made between weak and strong rules, and conditions for monotonicity of optimal weak and strong rules are presented. (Author/SLD)

Applied the theory of exponential families of distributions to the problem of fitting the univariate histograms and discrete bivariate frequency distributions that often arise in the analysis of test scores. Considers efficient computation of the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters using Newton's Method and computationally efficient…