The purpose of this study was to examine gender and discipline-based Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and Differential Distractor Functioning (DDF) on the Islamic Azad University English Proficiency Test (IAUEPT). The study evaluated DIF and DDF across genders and disciplines using the Rasch model. To conduct DIF and DDF analysis, the examinees…

Written examinations represent one of the most common assessment tools in education. Though typically perceived as measurement instruments, written examinations are primarily texts that perform a communicative function. To complement existing research, this study viewed written examinations as a distinct form of communication (i.e. 'register').…

Background: The shortage of skilled workers choosing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers in the USA and worldwide has fueled a movement towards STEAM, in which the "A" addresses the arts and humanities. STEAM education has been proposed as a way to offer relevant problems to solve while drawing on creative and…

To determine whether the so-called "two-cultures gap" exists between the humanities and the sciences in high school, and if so, its extent and nature, a series of relatively unstructured interviews were held with science and humanities teachers in six Connecticut high schools to determine what attitudinal differences existed between the two…

The papers presented at the 1975 conference on computers in undergraduate curricula are reproduced in this volume. With computer science specifically excluded as an area of interest, papers fall under the following headings: humanities, business, physics, computerized test construction, mathematics science, computer managed instruction and…

Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were used to describe and categorize tasks from six graduate disciplines including academic psychology, applied psychology, English literature, journalism, physics, and electrical engineering. A sample of task descriptions was constructed through interviews with four or five graduate students from each…

A professor's 10-year experience on the development committee for the CLEP Humanities Test provides the basis for this supportive assessment of the College Level Examination Program. Changes in tests, question selection, the value of pre-testing, and other responsibilities of development committees are discussed. (LBH)

DEFINING MUSICALITY AS THE ABILITY TO GRASP A MUSICAL IDEA IN ITS TOTALITY, THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATED THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF MUSICAL PERFORMANCE (BOTH ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL), GUIDED LISTENING, MUSIC READING, AND MUSICAL COMPOSITION AS MEANS OF DEVELOPING SUCH MUSICALITY. THE INSTRUMENT OF EVALUATION WAS A TEST OF AESTHETIC JUDGMENTS IN…

Interest scales designed to provide educational and vocational guidance to midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy were developed from the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. Three of the scales provided an index of similarity between a person's interests and the interests of previous graduates from each of the Academy's three academic areas:…

The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) has been laying the groundwork to explore fundamental questions of the implementation of alternative assessment. The CRESST has been working collaboratively with school practitioners to help them implement performance assessment strategies so that the CRESST…

This conference focused on the broad theme, improving the quality and scope of measurement. The first session centered on improving criteria for educational and psychological measurement, with papers on Criteria for Complex Mental Processes by Robert C. Wilson and on Criteria of Nonintellectual Aspects of Personality by Morris I. Stein. The second…

This summary for administrators describes the Cultural Literacy Test, which is designed to help monitor students' progress in attaining essential general knowledge and to serve as a rational means for assessing education in one of its most important dimensions: the achievement of functional literacy. Summary topics include test development,…