Estimation of parameters for the many-facets Rasch model requires that conditional on the values of the facets, such as person ability, item difficulty, and rater severity, the observed responses within each facet are independent. This requirement has often been discussed for the Rasch models and 2PL and 3PL models, but it becomes more complex…

Many high-stakes examinations in the United Kingdom (UK) use both constructed-response items and selected-response items. We need to evaluate the inter-rater reliability for constructed-response items that are scored by humans. While there are a variety of methods for evaluating rater consistency across ratings in the psychometric literature, we…

KR-21 reliability and its extension (coefficient [alpha]) gives the reliability estimate of test scores under the assumption of tau-equivalent forms. KR-21 reliability gives the reliability estimate for summed scores for dichotomous items when items are randomly sampled from an infinite pool of similar items (randomly parallel forms). The article…

The answer-until-correct (AUC) method of multiple-choice (MC) testing involves test respondents making selections until the keyed answer is identified. Despite attendant benefits that include improved learning, broad student adoption, and facile administration of partial credit, the use of AUC methods for classroom testing has been extremely…

Automated scoring systems are typically evaluated by comparing the performance of a single automated rater item-by-item to human raters. This presents a challenge when the performance of multiple raters needs to be compared across multiple items. Rankings could depend on specifics of the ranking procedure; observed differences could be due to…

In multiple-choice tests, the quality of distractors may be more important than their number. We therefore examined the joint influence of distractor quality and quantity on test functioning by providing a sample of 5,793 participants with five parallel test sets consisting of items that differed in the number and quality of distractors.…

This article discusses regression effects that are commonly observed in Angoff ratings where panelists tend to think that hard items are easier than they are and easy items are more difficult than they are in comparison to estimated item difficulties. Analyses of data from two credentialing exams illustrate these regression effects and the…

The Angoff method requires experts to view every item on the test and make a probability judgment. This can be time consuming when there are large numbers of items on the test. In this study, a G-theory framework was used to determine if a subset of items can be used to make generalizable cut-score recommendations. Angoff ratings (i.e.,…

This article describes a computerized adaptive test (CAT) based on the uniform item exposure multi-form structure (uMFS). The uMFS is a specialization of the multi-form structure (MFS) idea described by Armstrong, Jones, Berliner, and Pashley (1998). In an MFS CAT, the examinee first responds to a small fixed block of items. The items comprising…

Standard setting methods, like the Bookmark procedure, are used to assist education experts in formulating performance standards. Small group discussion is meant to help these experts in setting more reliable and valid cutoff scores. This study is an analysis of 15 small group discussions during two standards setting trajectories and their effect…

In this study, we examine the degree of construct comparability and possible sources of incomparability of the English and French versions of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 problem-solving measure administered in Canada. Several approaches were used to examine construct comparability at the test- (examination of…

We examined how rater language background affects the scoring of short-answer, open-ended test items in the assessment of English language learners (ELLs). Four native English and four native Spanish-speaking certified bilingual teachers scored 107 responses of fourth- and fifth-grade Spanish-speaking ELLs to mathematics items administered in…

Many innovative item formats have been proposed over the past decade, but little empirical research has been conducted on their measurement properties. This study examines the reliability, efficiency, and construct validity of two innovative item formats--the figural response (FR) and constructed response (CR) formats used in a K-12 computerized…

Federal policy on alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) inspired this research. Specifically, an experimental study was conducted to determine whether tests composed of modified items would have the same level of reliability as tests composed of original items, and whether these modified items helped reduce…

We determined the recommendations for preparing and scoring constructed-response (CR) test items in 25 sources (textbooks and chapters) on educational and psychological measurement. The project was similar to Haladyna's (2004) analysis for multiple-choice items. We identified 12 recommendations for preparing CR items given by multiple sources,…