Balancing assessment of learning outcomes with the expectations of students is a perennial challenge in education. Difficult exams, in which many students perform poorly, exacerbate this problem and can inspire a wide variety of interventions, such as a grading curve. However, addressing poor performance can sometimes distort or inflate grades and…

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) is inherently an interactive, conjoint, dual-strand process that considers how a student reasons about a problem as well as how s/he interacts with others to regulate social processes and exchange information (OECD, 2013). Measuring CPS skills presents a challenge for obtaining consistent, accurate, and reliable…

We propose an adaptation of the Glicko-2 rating system in a K-12 math learning software setting, where variable time intervals between solution attempts and the stratification of student-item pairings by grade levels necessitate modification of the original model. The discrete-time stochastic process underlying the original system has been…

An Angoff standard setting study generally yields judgments on a number of items by a number of judges (who may or may not be nested in panels). Variability associated with judges (and possibly panels) contributes error to the resulting cut score. The variability associated with items plays a more complicated role. To the extent that the mean item…

We examined summary indices of high school performance (coursework, grades, and test scores) based on the graded response model (GRM). The indices varied by inclusion of ACT test scores and whether high school courses were constrained to have the same difficulty and discrimination across groups of schools. The indices were examined with respect to…

The "Test of Financial Literacy" (TFL) was created to measure the financial knowledge of high school students. Its content is based on the standards and benchmarks stated in the "National Standards for Financial Literacy" (Council for Economic Education 2013). The test development process involved extensive item writing and…

Though addressing sources of uncertainty is an important part of doing science, it has largely been neglected in assessing students' scientific argumentation. In this study, we initially defined a scientific argumentation construct in four structural elements consisting of claim, justification, uncertainty qualifier, and uncertainty…

An old issue in psychological assessment is to what extent power and speed each are measured by a given intelligence test. Starting from accuracy and response time data, an approach based on posterior time limits (cut-offs of recorded response time) leads to three kinds of recoded data: time data (whether or not the response precedes the cut-off),…

Computer-based tests (CBTs) often use random ordering of items in order to minimize item exposure and reduce the potential for answer copying. Little research has been done, however, to examine item position effects for these tests. In this study, different versions of a Rasch model and different response time models were examined and applied to…

The traditional approach to scale modified-Angoff cut scores transfers the raw cuts to an existing raw-to-scale score conversion table. Under the traditional approach, cut scores and conversion table raw scores are not only seen as interchangeable but also as originating from a common scaling process. In this article, we propose an alternative…

In this study, the authors extend the standard item response model with internal restrictions on item difficulty (MIRID) to fit polytomous items using cumulative logits and adjacent-category logits. Moreover, the new model incorporates discrimination parameters and is rooted in a multilevel framework. It is a nonlinear mixed model so that existing…

Computerized classification testing (CCT) is an approach to designing tests with intelligent algorithms, similar to adaptive testing, but specifically designed for the purpose of classifying examinees into categories such as "pass" and "fail." Like adaptive testing for point estimation of ability, the key component is the…

Incorrect handling of item parameter drift during the equating process can result in equating error. If the item parameter drift is due to construct-irrelevant factors, then inclusion of these items in the estimation of the equating constants can be expected to result in equating error. On the other hand, if the item parameter drift is related to…

Any meaningful initiative to improve the teaching and learning in introductory control systems courses needs a clear test of student conceptual understanding to determine the effectiveness of proposed methods and activities. The authors propose a control systems concept inventory. Development of the inventory was collaborative and iterative. The…

The nature of anatomy education has changed substantially in recent decades, though the traditional multiple-choice written examination remains the cornerstone of assessing students' knowledge. This study sought to measure the quality of a clinical anatomy multiple-choice final examination using item response theory (IRT) models. One hundred…