Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show how higher education institutions in the Caribbean may benefit from the quality assurance measures implemented by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses an outcomes model of quality assurance to analyse the measures implemented by the CXC to assure quality…

The Talent Search model, founded at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Julian C. Stanley, is fundamentally an above-level testing program. This simplistic description belies the enduring impact that the Talent Search model has had on the lives of hundreds of thousands of gifted students as well as their parents and teachers. In this article, we…

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…

This paper compares three methods of item calibration--concurrent calibration, separate calibration with linking, and fixed item parameter calibration--that are frequently used for linking item parameters to a base scale. Concurrent and separate calibrations were implemented using BILOG-MG. The Stocking and Lord (1983) characteristic curve method…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is a statistical technique used for ensuring the equity and fairness of educational assessments. This study formulates a new DIF analysis method using the information similarity index (ISI). ISI compares item information functions when data fits the Rasch model. Through simulations and an international…

The economic and employment outlook for individuals without a high school diploma is bleak. For many of these individuals, passing the General Educational Development (GED) Test is the first step in competing in the increasingly demanding job market. GED test-taking policies vary across test centers and jurisdictions, and have the potential to…

The need for an independent mechanism that regulates, or audits, the testing enterprise is discussed along with a critique of current mechanisms for challenging a high-stakes test or its use and the need for independent auditing of the commercial test industry. Models for an auditing mechanism are reviewed. (SLD)

Articles in this special issue attempt to address the most significant aspect of certification and licensing testing programs: validity. Although construct validity has become the prevailing model, the theoretical formulation of the construct of competence remains a topic of considerable debate. (SLD)

An integer programming approach to item pool design is presented that can be used to calculate an optimal blueprint for an item pool to support an existing testing program. The results are optimal in the sense that they minimize the efforts involved in actually producing the items as revealed by current item writing patterns. Also, an adaptation…

An evolved form of the Edwards and Beckworth (1989) model for probability selection for Scholastic Achievement Test takers using truncated normal distributions is presented. It is shown that the arguments of Holland and Wainer are not sufficient to reject this model. (SLD)

The utility of modified item response theory (IRT) models in small sample testing applications was studied. The modified IRT models were modifications of the one- and two-parameter logistic models. One-, two-, and three-parameter models were also studied. Test data were from 4 years of a national certification examination for persons desiring…

In 1979-80, the Arkansas minimum competency tests were administered to a sample of 5,000 students in grades 3, 6, and 8. To determine how well test objectives matched the curriculum, their teachers estimated how many of the four items per objective a randomly selected student would answer correctly. Because chi square test comparisons of teacher…

The current study investigates the effect of adding an individual growth measure to the primary definition of AYP. A variety of approaches to measuring growth have already been identified and are in use in schools across the country. In almost every statewide assessment system, a measure of the amount that individual students change from one year…

An example application of portfolio assessment was developed and the model and estimates of reliability derived from the literature were then used to estimate the characteristics of an operational large-scale portfolio assessment program. Costs were estimated to put results in a realistic context. (SLD)

More attention is currently being paid to the distractors of a multiple-choice test item (Thissen, Steinberg, and Fitzpatrick, 1989). A systematic relationship exists between the keyed response and distractors in multiple-choice items (Levine and Drasgow, 1983). New scoring methods have been introduced, computer programs developed, and research…