The aim of the research reported here was to get some idea of the accuracy of grade boundaries (cut-scores) obtained by applying the 'similar items method' described in Bramley & Wilson (2016). In this method experts identify items on the current version of a test that are sufficiently similar to items on previous versions for them to be…

The purpose of this study is to equate Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) mathematics subtest scores obtained from TIMSS 2011 to scores obtained from TIMSS 2007 form with different nonlinear observed score equating methods under Non-Equivalent Anchor Test (NEAT) design where common items are used to link two or more test…

Beginning in 2002, researchers developed, implemented, and evaluated the efficacy of an English reading intervention for first-grade English learners using multiple randomized control trials (RCTs). As a result of this efficacy work, researchers successfully competed for an IES Goal 4 effectiveness study using the same intervention. Unlike the…

There is no comprehensive database of U.S. district-level test scores that is comparable across states. We describe and evaluate a method for constructing such a database. First, we estimate linear, reliability-adjusted linking transformations from state test score scales to the scale of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We…

Mixed-format tests containing both multiple-choice (MC) items and constructed-response (CR) items are now widely used in many testing programs. Mixed-format tests often are considered to be superior to tests containing only MC items although the use of multiple item formats leads to measurement challenges in the context of equating conducted under…

Typically a longitudinal growth modeling based on item response theory (IRT) requires repeated measures data from a single group with the same test design. If operational or item exposure problems are present, the same test may not be employed to collect data for longitudinal analyses and tests at multiple time points are constructed with unique…

Common items with inconsistent b-parameter estimates may have a serious impact on item response theory (IRT)--based equating results. To find a better way to deal with the outlier common items with inconsistent b-parameters, the current study investigated the comparability of 10 variations of four IRT-based equating methods (i.e., concurrent…

A new report, "The Proficiency Illusion," released last year by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute states that the tests that states use to measure academic progress under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are creating a false impression of success, especially in reading and especially in the early grades. The report is a collaboration…

A study was conducted of the feasibility of establishing an equivalency scale that would enable commercial state tests to be linked to one another and to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In evaluating the feasibility of linkages, the study committee focused on the linkage of various fourth-grade reading tests and the linkage…

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using item response theory (IRT) methods to equate different forms of three College Board Achievement Tests (Biology, American History and Social Studies, and Mathematics Level II) and one Graduate Record Examinations Achievement Test (Advanced Biology), rather than conventional or…

Rasch model vertical equating procedures were applied to three mathematics computation tests for grades six, seven, and eight. Each level of the test was composed of 45 items in three sets of 15 items, arranged in such a way that tests for adjacent grades had two sets (30 items) in common, and the sixth and eighth grades had 15 items in common. In…

The Anchor Test Study Manual was reviewed with the practitioner in mind. It represents an effort to equate and standardize eight commonly used elementary reading tests. Possibilities and limitations in using the manual are discussed. (BJG)

This study compared the lower asymptotes estimated by the maximum likelihood procedures of the LOGIST computer program with those obtained via application of the Norton methodology. The study also compared the equating results from the three-parameter logistic model with those obtained from the equipercentile, Rasch, and conditional…

Reviews the Anchor Test Study which had two major objectives: to provide a method for translating a child's score on any one of eight widely used standardized reading tests into a score on any of the other tests and to provide new nationally representative norms for each of these eight tests. (Author/BJG)

When two different forms of a particular test are given to different groups of candidates, it is often necessary to make the test results for the two tests or groups as comparable as possible; the statistical process used for this purpose is termed equating. Two different methods of equating Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Advanced Tests were…