Recent research has demonstrated an intersectional approach to the study of differential item functioning (DIF). This approach expands DIF to account for the interactions between what have traditionally been treated as separate grouping variables. In this paper, we compare traditional and intersectional DIF analyses using data from a state testing…

The equating of tests is an essential process in high-stakes, large-scale testing conducted over multiple forms or administrations. By adjusting for differences in difficulty and placing scores from different administrations of a test on a common scale, equating allows scores from these different forms and administrations to be directly compared…

This article used several data sets from a large-scale state testing program to examine the feasibility of combining general and modified assessment items in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for different groups of students. Results suggested that several of the assumptions made when employing this type of mixed-item CAT may not be met for…

The synthetic function is a weighted average of the identity (the linking function for forms that are known to be completely parallel) and a traditional equating method. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the benefits of the synthetic function on small-sample equating using various real data sets gathered from different…

This article proposes that sampling design effects have potentially huge unrecognized impacts on the results reported by large-scale district and state assessments in the United States. When design effects are unrecognized and unaccounted for they lead to underestimating the sampling error in item and test statistics. Underestimating the sampling…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program is a series of periodic assessments administered nationally to samples of students and designed to measure different content areas. This article describes a multi-year study that focused on the breadth of the development, administration, maintenance, and renewal of the assessments in…

In operational testing programs using item response theory (IRT), item parameter invariance is threatened when an item appears in a different location on the live test than it did when it was field tested. This study utilizes data from a large state's assessments to model change in Rasch item difficulty (RID) as a function of item position change,…

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of scale drift on a test that employs cut scores. It was essential to examine scale drift for this testing program because new forms in this testing program are often put on scale through a series of intermediate equatings (known as equating chains). This process may cause equating error to…

Although testing accommodations are commonly provided to students with disabilities within large-scale testing programs, research findings on how well accommodations allow for comparable measurement of student knowledge and skill remain inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which 1 commonly held belief about testing…