Statistical significance and "abnormality" have been used as criteria for the evaluation of intra-individual subtest score differences. Shortcomings of these criteria are identified, and improved estimates of the true score differences are suggested. The applicability of the abnormality criterion to these improved estimates is reviewed.…

The speech of a sample of Chinese and Korean nonnative speakers of English (n=30) was evaluated by raters of the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) for a degree of fluency and by a computerized silent-pause-detection program. (35 references) (JL)

Analysis of scores of 69,284 high school seniors on the 1990 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) found higher means for men than women. Use of adjusted means (rather than observed means) increased the difference between men and women on the verbal section and decreased the difference on the mathematics section. Adjusted means may provide more…

Differential item functioning (DIF) is an important consideration in assessing the validity of test scores (Camilli & Shepard, 1994). A variety of statistical procedures have been developed to assess DIF in tests of dichotomous (Hills, 1989; Millsap & Everson, 1993) and polytomous (Penfield & Lam, 2000; Potenza & Dorans, 1995) items. Some of these…

This chapter is concerned with how assessments of students' work in classrooms, although primarily intended to promote learning, can also become an important source of information for evaluating a school's effectiveness within an accountability system. The authors begin their discussion by considering issues of fairness, to schools and to their…

Related literature indicates that the Internet has an important role and great potential in foreign language learning. It is also obvious that attitudes of learners affect learning process significantly. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of foreign language learners and to find the relationship between attitudes and subject variables.…

We assessed whether and how the discourse written for prototype integrated tasks (involving writing in response to print or audio source texts) field tested for the new TOEFL® differs from the discourse written for independent essays (i.e., the TOEFL essay). We selected 216 compositions written for 6 tasks by 36 examinees in a field…

Among many studies focusing on the effect of learner and instructional variables on course outcomes, few studies have investigated the learners' study habits and the mediating mechanisms among the learner and instruction variables in their influence on course outcomes. This study examined differences in learner satisfaction and learning outcomes…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of using goal planning and weekly monitoring and evaluation forms within an online class to promote the use of selfregulated learning strategies. The relationship between student academic achievement and the use of materials to promote self-regulated learning was also studied. The…

This article reports on a study which investigated the effects of correction of learners' grammatical errors on acquisition. Specifically, it compared the effects of timing of correction (immediate versus delayed correction) and manner of correction (explicit versus implicit correction). It also investigated the relative effects of correction of…

This study compared the effectiveness of several existing and proposed methods for statistically adjusting college grade point averages (GPAs) for course and departmental differences in grading standards, using first-semester grades from an entire entering class at a large state university (4,351 students), in 1988. Most of the adjusted GPAs…

This study addressed which, if any, contemporary fit indices are least susceptible to the bias associated with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) involving a large number of measured variables. Data were obtained from student responses from 1980 to 1990 on the Student Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) instrument of H. Marsh (1987). Factor…

In latent trait theory the latent space, or space of the hypothetical construct, is usually represented by some unidimensional or multi-dimensional continuum of real numbers. Like the latent space, the item response can either be treated as a discrete variable or as a continuous variable. Latent trait theory relates the item response to the latent…

A method for equating test scores between two standardized achievement testing programs was developed. The first test was the Survey of Basic Skills (SBS) published by Science Research Associates. The second was the Tests of Individual Performance (TIP) of the Portland Public Schools in Oregon. Scores reported in Rasch units (RIT) from the TIP…

A formal analysis is presented of the effects of item deletion on equating/scaling functions and reported score distributions. The phrase "item deletion" refers to the process of changing the original key of a flawed item to either all options correct, including omits, or to no options correct, i.e., not scoring the flawed item. There…