A model is presented in which a test score is influenced by three factors: (1) the test itself, including the nature of the item tryout samples, the nature of the standardization group, the item scaling model and methods, the manner of item subset generation, logical strategies in test building, the format of questions, the test appearance, item…

Previous users of Coursewriter, an interactive computer-based learning system, experienced difficulty retrieving student progress reports. A program has been written which will permit the person in charge of the course to request student reports, test scores, connect time, and class statistics. Sample program interactions and a copy of the program…

In this document, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Director, Grover J. Whitehurst, presents results of the 2004 Long-Term Trend Reading and Mathematics Assessments. The 2004 results are based on a representative sample of over 28,000 public- and private-school students assessed in reading and mathematics, at ages 9, 13, and 17.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between testing condition and student test scores. The testing conditions studied were: independent, cheat sheet, homogenous grouping with cheat sheet, and heterogeneous group without cheat sheet. Participants were 141 undergraduates in a course required for entry into the teacher…

An empirical study of the Yen (W. Yen, 1997) analytic formula for the standard error of a percent-above-cut [SE(PAC)] was conducted. This formula was derived from variance component information gathered in the context of generalizability theory. SE(PAC)s were estimated by different methods of estimating variance components (e.g., W. Yens…

How state educational authorities in Kentucky use statewide test data to rank the state's 178 school districts was studied, using data from the "Kentucky Essential Skills Test: Statewide Testing Results" (1987). The methods used, means of refining those methods, the fairness/accuracy/validity of resulting interpretations, and problems…

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…

Candidates who had taken examinations for certification required by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) were surveyed to acquire feedback about the effectiveness of score interpretive information given to test takers. Those sampled included 488 passers and 389 failers of the Inventory Management (IM) examination and 457…

The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is designed to recognize accomplished teachers in the profession. Validity of the national board certification hinges on a fundamental concern whether confounding factors other than teaching performance have contributed to the certification outcome. In particular, gender stereotypic…

Cooperative testing seems a logical complement to cooperative learning, but it is counter to traditional testing procedures and is viewed by some as an opportunity for cheating and freeloading on the efforts of other test takers. This study examined the practice of cooperative testing in introductory statistics. Findings indicate that students had…

The choice of a cutting score for criterion-related tests influences decisions related to classifying people into dichotomous categories. This paper proposes an empirical methodology for determining the best cutting score when there is information about the test score frequency distribution of test-takers defined as actually successful and…

The effects of two types of self-determined reinforcement contingencies on children's test performances were investigated and compared to each other and to externally determined contingencies. In Experiment I, fourth-grade children's test performances were measured on a curriculum of history facts, Spanish-English word pairs, and reading…

Two validity studies were made of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) with 152 learning disabled and 115 non-learning disabled children (ages from 7 to 10 years). In the first study, Ss' scores on the PIAT, California Achievement Test (CAT), and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) were correlated; in the second study scores on the…

Standardized tests are devised to sort students out, comparing them on a scale from high to low, not to discover what students know. Thus, results of standardized tests are misleading in representing the achievements of educational programs and in comparing one school or school system with another. Criterion tests, however, measure directly and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the scores students earned on their statistics final examinations and the number of minutes students required to complete the exams. In a previous study, K. Bridges (1985) extended the range of interest in this relationship from a single study to a course-based series, examining…