The goal of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a short web-based tutorial in helping teachers to better understand the portrayal of measurement error in test score reports. The short video tutorial included both verbal and graphical representations of measurement error. Results showed a significant difference in comprehension scores…

Research has shown that many educators do not understand the terminology or displays used in test score reports and that measurement error is a particularly challenging concept. We investigated graphical and verbal methods of representing measurement error associated with individual student scores. We created four alternative score reports, each…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is a key component in the evaluation of the fairness and validity of educational tests. The goal of this project was to review the status of ETS DIF analysis procedures, focusing on three aspects: (a) the nature and stringency of the statistical rules used to flag items, (b) the minimum sample size…

Research has often found that, when high school grades and SAT scores are used to predict first-year college grade-point average (FGPA) via regression analysis, African-American and Latino students, are, on average, predicted to earn higher FGPAs than they actually do. Under various plausible models, this phenomenon can be explained in terms of…

Two possible standard error formulas for the polytomous differential item functioning index proposed by N. J. Dorans and A. P. Schmitt (1991) were derived. These standard errors, and associated hypothesis-testing procedures, were evaluated through simulated data. The standard error that performed better is based on N. Mantel's (1963)…

Most currently used measures of inter-rater agreement for the nominal case incorporate a correction for "chance agreement." The definition of chance agreement is not the same for all coefficients, however. Three chance-corrected coefficients are Cohen's Kappa; Scott's Pi; and the S index of Bennett, Goldstein, and Alpert, which has…

Use of the Mantel-Haenszel procedure as a test for differential item functioning under the Rasch model of item-response theory is examined. Results of the procedure cannot be generalized to the class of items for which item-response functions are monotonic and local independence holds. (TJH)

Several recent studies have investigated the application of statistical inference procedures to the analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) in test items that are scored on an ordinal scale. Mantel's extension of the Mantel-Haenszel test is a possible hypothesis-testing method for this purpose. The development of descriptive statistics for…

Simulated data were used to investigate the performance of modified versions of the Mantel-Haenszel method of differential item functioning (DIF) analysis in computerized adaptive tests (CAT). Results indicate that CAT-based DIF procedures perform well and support the use of item response theory-based matching variables in DIF analysis. (SLD)

Simulated data were used to investigate the performance of modified versions of the Mantel-Haenszel and standardization methods of differential item functioning (DIF) analysis in computer-adaptive tests (CATs). Each "examinee" received 25 items out of a 75-item pool. A three-parameter logistic item response model was assumed, and…

A simulation study of methods of assessing differential item functioning (DIF) in computer-adaptive tests (CATs) was conducted by Zwick, Thayer, and Wingersky (in press, 1993). Results showed that modified versions of the Mantel-Haenszel and standardization methods work well with CAT data. DIF methods were also investigated for nonadaptive…

Cox (1972) proposed a discrete-time survival model that is somewhat analogous to the proportional hazards model for continuous time. Efron (1988) showed that this model can be estimated using ordinary logistic regression software, and Singer and Willett (1993) provided a detailed illustration of a particularly flexible form of the model that…