ERIC Number: EJ753426
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Oct
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1380-3611
EISSN: N/A
Dimensions of National Test Performance: A Two-Level Approach
Aberg-Bengtsson, Lisbeth; Erickson, Gudrun
Educational Research and Evaluation, v12 n5 p469-488 Oct 2006
The research project presented in this article was set in the Swedish school context and carried out on a set of compulsory national tests for English, Swedish, and mathematics used at the end of compulsory school. The aims were: (a) to gain a deeper knowledge of the internal structure of the tests and (b) to separate individual performance from school performance. Individual test results from a representative sample of approximately 30% of the cohort (n = 26,360) constituted the data. Factor analysis, of a basically confirmatory nature, was applied in the study. Modelling at the individual level resulted in a theoretically sound, 11-factor model demonstrating good fit. The corresponding analyses at the school level, using 2-level structural equation modelling techniques, generated a similar, although somewhat less complex, model. Approximately 12% of the total variation in performance on the tests proved to be associated with schools. (Contains 4 tables and 4 figures.)
Descriptors: Individual Testing, Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Models, Foreign Countries, Multidimensional Scaling, Performance Based Assessment, Student Evaluation, Psychometrics, Research Methodology, Test Theory, Group Testing, Statistical Distributions
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A