The purpose of the analyses reported in this paper was to compare performance on the GED (General Educational Development) Tests, U.S. edition, across three groups of examinees: (a) graduating high school seniors in the GED Tests U.S. 2001 norm group, (b) GED Tests candidates who took one or more tests in the U.S. in 2002-2004, and (c) GED Tests…

This study aimed to determine how California secondary physical education teachers perceive the state mandated youth fitness testing for the 5th, 7th, and 9th grades using Fitnessgram. The participants were secondary school physical education teachers (N = 323). A previously validated attitudinal instrument (Keating & Silverman, 2004a) was…

Discusses a study of effects of organization on classroom multiple choice examinations by extending existing research on this topic to include all examinations within a course instead of only one or two. A second purpose was to investigate the effect of academic ability on student test performance on random v sequential order of test items.…

Resampling results with real data for 1,000 test responses and 2,902 young adults show that for unidimensional and multidimensional models the item response theory (IRT) estimator is a more accurate predictor of the domain score than is the classical percent-correct score. (SLD)

Results of profile analysis via multidimensional scaling (PAMS), a technique for studying the most prominent profiles in a battery of measures, are reported for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (WAIS) and the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). PAMS profiles and the methodological features of the PAMS approach are discussed. (SLD)

Describes an analytic method for aiding in the generation of subscores that characterize the deep structure of tests and derives a procedure for estimating scores for those scales that are more statistically stable than subscores composed solely of items contained on that scale. Used data from a Praxis administration (9,278 examinees) to show the…

Attempted to improve the measurement quality of a complex performance assessment through principled assessment design using the example of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Early Childhood/Generalist examination. All indexes examined improved after revisions were made. Results show the importance of attention to assessment…

When the College Board announced, in the summer of 2002, that it would stop "flagging" the test scores of students who were given special accommodations for the SAT, the gold standard exam for college admission, disability advocates were thrilled. "A triumphant day for millions of people with dyslexia and other disabilities,"…

The role of central auditory processing in reading skill development and reading disorders is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether individuals with specific reading disabilities (SRD) have deficits in processing rapidly presented, serially ordered non-speech auditory signals. To this end, we compared 12 children with SRD and…

Empirical Bayes (EB) methods are frequently used on hierarchical linear models in practice. This paper provides an overview of parametric EB methods with special emphasis on their application in data-analytic settings. Eight different models with different levels of complexity are described. Comparisons of performance with other methods are…

The summary information contained in this report provides teachers, school administrators, students, and the general public with an overview of results from the January 1997 administration of the Mathematics 30 Diploma Examination by the Alberta Department of Education in Canada. This information is most helpful when used with the detailed school…

The summary information contained in this report provides teachers, school administrators, students, and the general public with an overview of results from the January 1997 administration of the Mathematics 33 Diploma Examination by the Alberta Department of Education in Canada. This information is most helpful when used with the detailed school…

Previous studies have indicated that the reliability of test scores composed of testlets might be overestimated by conventional item-based reliability estimation methods (R. Thorndike, 1953; A. Anastasi, 1988; S. Sireci, D. Thissen, and H. Wainer, 1991; H. Wainer and D. Thissen, 1996). This study used generalizability theory to investigate the…

The summary information contained in this report provides teachers, school administrators, students, and the general public with an overview of the results from the June 1998 administration of the Mathematics 30 Diploma Examination by the Alberta Department of Education in Canada. This information is most helpful when used with the detailed school…

The Education Writers Association recently adopted a resolution urging school districts and states to release information on which groups of students are tested and which are excluded when reporting standardized test results. Three authorities on student assessment agree that full disclosure prevents score inflation and holds states and districts…