The study investigates the relationship between ethnicity and performance in selected AP courses for years 2001, 2005, and 2010. Data was collected from College Board annual reports for all 51 states and for subject groups Mathematics, Sciences, and Languages. Results show the evidence that there is significant achievement gaps among male and…

Mixed-format tests containing both multiple-choice and constructed-response items are widely used on educational tests. Such tests combine the broad content coverage and efficient scoring of multiple-choice items with the assessment of higher-order thinking skills thought to be provided by constructed-response items. However, the combination of…

This article presents the author's rejoinder to thinking about linking from issue 8(1). Particularly within the more embracing linking frameworks, e.g., Holland & Dorans (2006) and Holland (2007), there appears to be a major disjunction between (1) classification discourse: the supposed basis for classification, that is, the underlying theory…

"Linking" is a term given to a general class of procedures by which one represents scores X on one test or measure in terms of scores Y on another test or measure. A recent taxonomy by Holland and Dorans (2006; Holland, 2007) organizes the various types of links into three broad categories: prediction, scale aligning, and equating. In…

After surveying 1,827 students in their final year at eighty randomly selected two-year and four-year public and private institutions, American Institutes for Research (2006) reported that approximately 30 percent of students in two-year institutions and nearly 20 percent of students in four-year institutions have only basic quantitative…

In this study, we describe a framework for monitoring rater performance over time. We present several statistical indices to identify raters whose standards drift and explain how to use those indices operationally. To illustrate the use of the framework, we analyzed rating data from the 2002 Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition…

As part of its College Readiness System, ACT offers the PLAN[R] program as a way for tenth-grade students to review their progress toward college readiness while there is still time to make necessary interventions. PLAN contains four tests--English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. These tests are designed to measure students' curriculum-related…

A new test of Advanced Placement Physics, explicitly designed to balance both content and cognitive-processing skills, was developed using Sternberg's theory of successful intelligence. The test was administered to 281 AP Physics students from 10 schools during the 2006-2007 school year. Six empirically distinguishable profiles of strengths and…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides several funding opportunities that can assist states in designing, developing, and implementing statewide education longitudinal data systems. These new and enhanced information systems will enable states to track student progress within and across the secondary and postsecondary education…

Statistics from a study conducted in the University of Michigan's Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures are presented in tabular form under these headings: placement scale, numbers of students placed, numbers of students enrolled, previous German versus placement, grades received, and performance of CEEB students (by course). (AF)

Experience in evaluating responses to poetry in the Advanced Placement Examination can offer guidelines for the effective testing of students on poetry without reducing their interest in the art. For advanced secondary or first-year college students, teachers should avoid approaches and tests that are concerned with (1) extraneous biographical,…

Argues that the Scholastic Aptitude Test is unnecessary. Advocates the coordinated development of achievement tests and high school curricula based on the College Board's Advanced Placement Program and Project Equality. (FMW)