The speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) suggests that time constraints reduce response accuracy. Its relevance in observational settings--where response time (RT) may not be constrained but respondent speed may still vary--is unclear. Using 29 data sets containing data from cognitive tasks, we use a flexible method for identification of the SAT (which…

A developmental model linking professionalism and character growth is implemented at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (USMA) through its programs and policies. The current study used growth-modeling techniques to examine developmental relationships between metrics of professional development and performance outcomes at USMA and assessed…

The purpose of this study is to explore patterns in model-data fit related to subgroups of test takers from a large-scale writing assessment. Using data from the SAT, a calibration group was randomly selected to represent test takers who reported that English was their best language from the total population of test takers (N = 322,011). A…

In this study, differential item functioning (DIF) methods utilizing 14 different matching variables were applied to assess DIF in the constructed-response (CR) items from 6 forms of 3 mixed-format tests. Results suggested that the methods might produce distinct patterns of DIF results for different tests and testing programs, in that the DIF…

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there are differences in how cognitive and noncognitive variables predict academic performance for college students with learning disabilities. In particular, this study examined the extent to which the cognitive variables of high school grade point average and SAT (combined verbal and math) or ACT…

There is much debate on the merits and pitfalls of standardized tests for college admission, with questions regarding the format (multiple-choice vs. constructed response), cognitive complexity, and content of these assessments (achievement vs. aptitude) at the forefront of the discussion. This study addressed these questions by investigating the…

This is a quantitative study, which attempted to detect gender bias test items from the Botswana Junior Certificate Examination in mathematics. To detect gender bias test items, a randomly selected sample of 4000 students responses to mathematics paper 1 of the Botswana Junior Certificate examination were selected from 36,000 students who sat for…

The purpose of the study is to present research focused on validating the four algebra cognitive models in Gierl, Wang, et al., using student response data collected with protocol analysis methods to evaluate the knowledge structures and processing skills used by a sample of SAT test takers.

This report provides a brief summary of the research projects that have been conducted to support the development of the new SAT.

First- and second-order factor analyses were conducted, using the LISREL model, on correlation matrices among item parcels of verbal items of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Focus was on determining whether statistical dependence among item scores can be explained by a single ability dimension. Results suggest future research possibilities related…

The standardization method for assessing unexpected differential item performance or differential item functioning is introduced. Findings of five studies are summarized, in which the statistical method of standardization is used to look for unexpected differences in item performance across different subpopulations of the Scholastic Aptitude Test.…

Data from the Scholastic Aptitude Test-Verbal (SAT-V), SAT Mathematics (SAT-M), and Achievement Tests in Biology, American History, and Social Studies were used for this study. The temporal stability of item parameter estimates obtained for the same set of items calibrated for different examinees at different times was analyzed. It was believed…

This study explored whether the addition of the items with more advanced math content to the SAT Reasoning Test™ (SAT®) would impact test-taker performance. Two sets of SAT math equating sections were modified to form four subforms each. Different numbers of items with advanced content, taken from the SAT II: Mathematics Level IC Test (Math IC),…

Standardized methodology was used to help identify item characteristics explaining differential item functioning among Hispanics on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), in two studies with 284,359 and 292,725 Whites, Mexican-Americans, and Puerto Ricans. Results indicate true cognates, or words with a common root in English and Spanish; and content of…

The analytical decomposition demonstrates how the effects of item characteristics, test properties, individual examinee responses, and rounding rules combine to produce the item deletion effect on the equating/scaling function and candidate scores. The empirical portion of the report illustrates the effects of item deletion on reported score…