When there are no personal consequences associated with test performance for examinees, rapid guessing (RG) is a concern and can differ between subgroups. To date, the impact of differential RG on item-level measurement invariance has received minimal attention. To that end, a simulation study was conducted to examine the robustness of the…

Large-scale international assessments rely on indicators of the resources that students report having in their homes to capture the financial capital of their families. The scaling methodology currently used to develop the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) background indices is designed to maximize within-country comparability…

Drawing inferences about the extent to which student performance reflects instructional opportunities relies on the premise that the measure of student performance is reflective of instructional opportunities. An instructional sensitivity framework suggests that some assessments are more sensitive to detecting differences in instructional…

Complex Problem Solving (CPS) is seen as a cross-curricular 21st century skill that has attracted interest in large-scale-assessments. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012, CPS was assessed all over the world to gain information on students' skills to acquire and apply knowledge while dealing with nontransparent…

One-parameter and three-parameter item response theory (IRT) model estimates were compared with estimates obtained from two modified one-parameter models that incorporated a constant nonzero guessing parameter. Using small-sample simulation data (50, 100, and 200 simulated examinees), modified 1-parameter models were most effective in estimating…

This study examined the effect of oral administration accommodations on test structure and student performance on the mathematics portion of the South Carolina High School Exit Examination (HSEE). The examination was given at Grade 10 and was untimed. Three groups of students were studied. Two groups took the regular form. One group had recorded…

The feasibility of combining criterion-referenced and norm-referenced tests into a school achievement test score to be used for school effectiveness classification was studied with 361 elementary schools across 2 years and across a subsample of 264 schools. Results support combining scores of different tests to measure school effectiveness. (SLD)

This research examined the degree of comparability and sources of incomparability of English and French versions of reading, mathematics, and science tests that were administered as part of a survey of achievement in Canada. The results point to substantial psychometric differences between the 2 language versions. Approximately 18% to 36% of the…

Average performance on subtests of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development was compared for 177 high school students taking the test under silent reading (standardized) conditions and time limits and students listening to audiotapes of test material as they read the test. Poor readers were helped by the tapes. (SLD)