Proficiency with written communication (WC) is critical for success in college and careers. As a result, institutions face a growing challenge to accurately evaluate their students' writing skills to obtain data that can support demands of accreditation, accountability, or curricular improvement. Many current standardized measures, however, lack…

Views on testing--its purpose and uses and how its data are analyzed--are related to one's perspective on test takers. Test takers can be viewed as learners, examinees, or contestants. I briefly discuss the perspective of test takers as learners. I maintain that much of psychometrics views test takers as examinees. I discuss test takers as a…

Current college admissions tests inadequately predict college success (Geiser & Studley, 2002) and provide insufficient information for students and teachers regarding college readiness at earlier stages of students' academic careers (Olson, 2006). This article reports on the creation and validation of a more informative test rooted in college…

The attribute hierarchy method (AHM) is a psychometric procedure for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of structured attribute patterns associated with different components from a cognitive model of task performance. Results from an AHM analysis yield information on examinees' cognitive strengths and weaknesses. Hence, the AHM…

This catalog lists research reports, research notes, and other publications available from the College Board's website. The catalog briefly describes research publications available free of charge. Introduced in 1981, the Research Report series includes studies and reviews in areas such as college admission, special populations, subgroup…

In the Spring 2003 issue of "Harvard Educational Review," Roy Freedle stated that the SAT® is both culturally and statistically biased, and he proposed a solution to ameliorate this bias. His claims, which garnered national attention, were based on serious errors in his analysis. We begin our analyses by assessing the psychometric…

This study evaluated the use of bivariate matching as a solution to the problem of studying differential item functioning (DIF) with formula scored tests. Using Scholastic Aptitude Test verbal data with large samples, both male/female and black/white group comparisons were investigated. Mantel-Haenszel (MH) delta-(D) DIF values and DIF category…

This paper describes findings from two studies involving optional use of calculators on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) mathematical items. The first study looked at the effects of calculator use on estimates of item difficulty. The second study looked at the effect of calculator use on equating results from an anchor test design. Study 1,…

Previous research has studied the effects of different methods of item option weighting on the reliability and concurrent and predictive validity of achievement tests. Increases in reliability are generally found, but with mixed results for validity. Several methods of producing option weights, (i.e., Guttman internal and external weights and…

A new free-response item type for mathematics tests is described. The item type, referred to as the Student-Produced Response (SPR), was first introduced into the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 1993 and into the Scholastic Aptitude Test in 1994. Students solve a problem and record the answer by…