Maintaining score stability is crucial for an ongoing testing program that administers several tests per year over many years. One way to stall the drift of the score scale is to use an equating design with multiple links. In this study, we use the operational and experimental SAT® data collected from 44 administrations to investigate the effect…

Approximately one-third of American freshmen at two-year and four-year colleges require remedial coursework and over 40 percent of employers rate new hires with a high school diploma as "deficient" in their overall preparation for entry-level jobs. Yet, over the past decade, as these students marched through America's public education…

The need for increased exam security, improved test formats, more flexible scheduling, better measurement, and more efficient administrative processes has caused testing agencies to consider converting the administration of their exams from paper-and-pencil to computer-based testing (CBT). Many decisions must be made in order to provide an optimal…

In this technical report, we present the results of a reliability study of the seventh-grade multiple choice reading comprehension measures available on the easyCBM learning system conducted in the spring of 2011. Analyses include split-half reliability, alternate form reliability, person and item reliability as derived from Rasch analysis,…

In this research, we investigated the suitability of implementing "e-rater"® automated essay scoring in a high-stakes large-scale English language testing program. We examined the effectiveness of generic scoring and 2 variants of prompt-based scoring approaches. Effectiveness was evaluated on a number of dimensions, including agreement…

This study addresses the sample error and linking bias that occur with small and unrepresentative samples in a non-equivalent groups anchor test (NEAT) design. We propose a linking method called the "synthetic function," which is a weighted average of the identity function (the trivial equating function for forms that are known to be…

To identify a procedure for establishing cut scores for National Occupational Competency Testing Institute examinations in Pennsylvania, an expert panel assessed written and performance test items for minimally competent workers. Recommendations about the number, type, and training of judges used were made. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

The purpose of this report is to inform users and other interested parties about the development, content and technical characteristics of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments. It provides information for the 2003 "SOL" cycle that comprises the fall 2003 and spring 2004 administrations. The report is divided into three…

Tests in social studies and integrated science given in Saint Vincent, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Dominica were analyzed by the Organization for Co-operation in Overseas Development (OCOD) Comprehensive Teacher Training Program (CTTP) for discrimination, difficulty, and reliability, as well as other characteristics. There were 767 examinees for the…

Year-to-year rater variation may result in constructed response (CR) parameter changes, making CR items inappropriate to use in anchor sets for linking or equating. This study demonstrates how rater severity affected the writing and reading scores. Rater adjustments were made to statewide results using an item response theory (IRT) methodology…

This manual is presented to assist local districts in complying with the requirements of the Massachusetts Policy on Basic Skills Improvement, whose principal goal is to help students master basic skills prior to high school graduation. The policy requires schools to evaluate student achievement in the basic skills at least once during the early…

The North Carolina End-of-Grade Testing Program is based on the assessment of higher level skills in the context of specific subject-area content. These tests inform students, parents, the community, and educators about the achievement of North Carolina students in grades three through eight in given areas. This report describes the development…

In the spring of 1986, New York City began using the Metropolitan Achievement Test-6 (MAT-6) series to assess achievement in mathematics as part of a continuing end-of-year testing program. During the first two years of the program, appropriate levels of the shelf version of MAT-6 (Forms L and M) were administered to second through eighth graders.…

This compendium is designed to assist vocational educators in selecting appropriate testing instruments to measure the learning outcomes of their programs. It presents by occupational area basic information on more than 150 validated measures and lists more than 1,200 additional entries in the Vocational Education Curriculum Materials (VECM)…

This paper focuses on the questions which arise as test practitioners monitor score scales derived from latent trait theory. Large scale assessment programs are dynamic and constantly challenge the assumptions and limits of latent trait models. Even though testing programs evolve, test scores must remain reliable indicators of progress.…