Large-scale standardized tests are regularly used to measure student achievement overall and for student subgroups. These uses assume tests provide comparable measures of outcomes across student subgroups, but prior research suggests score comparisons across gender groups may be complicated by the type of test items used. This paper presents…

Test administrators are appropriately concerned about the potential for time constraints to impact the validity of score interpretations; psychometric efforts to evaluate the impact of speededness date back more than half a century. The widespread move to computerized test delivery has led to the development of new approaches to evaluating how…

In recent guidelines for fair educational testing it is advised to check the validity of individual test scores through the use of person-fit statistics. For practitioners it is unclear on the basis of the existing literature which statistic to use. An overview of relatively simple existing nonparametric approaches to identify atypical response…

Various item selection techniques are compared on criterion-referenced reliability and validity. Techniques compared include three nominal criterion-referenced methods, a traditional point biserial selection, teacher selection, and random selection. (Author)

Alternative scoring methods yield essentially the same information, including scale intercorrelations and validity. Reasons for preferring the traditional psychometric scoring technique are offered. (Author/AG)

A structure for describing different approaches to testing is generated by identifying five dimensions along which tests differ: test uses, item generation, item revision, assessment of precision, and validation. These dimensions are used to profile tests of reading comprehension. Only norm-referenced achievement tests had an inference system…

The effectiveness of a Likert-scale and three paired-choice presentation formats in discriminating among parents' preferences for curriculum elements were compared. Paired-choice formats gave more reliable discriminations which increased with stimulus specificity. Similarities and differences in preference orderings are discussed. (Author/CM)

Responses to a sample test were simulated for examinees under free-response and multiple-choice formats. Test score sets were correlated with randomly generated sets of unit-normal measures. The extent of superiority of free response tests was sufficiently small so that other considerations might justifiably dictate format choice. (Author/DWH)

Effects of the following methods for linking metrics on detection of differential item functioning (DIF) were compared: (1) test characteristic curve method (TCC); (2) weighted mean and sigma method; and (3) minimum chi-square method. With large samples, results were essentially the same. With small samples, TCC was most accurate. (SLD)

Scores on a multiple-choice language test involving recognition of language errors were related to those on writing samples, scored atomistically for the same language errors and holistically for communicative effectiveness and correctness. Results suggest the need for clear limits in generalizing from one assessment to others. (Author/GK)

Effects of logically weighting incorrect item options in conventional tests and different scoring functions with confidence tests on reliability and validity were examined. Ninth graders took conventionally administered Verbal and Mathematical Reasoning tests, scored conventionally and by a procedure assigning degree-of-correctness weights to…