The cultural bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment, Form AA-l (APLA) was examined. The potential influence of cultural differences on scores of a major ethnic group, Acadians or Cajuns, was investigated. Assessment items most prone to produce differences in scores were isolated and administered to selected groups. No significant…

Test item selection techniques based on traditional item analysis methods were compared to techniques based on item response theory. The consistency of mastery classifications in criterion referenced reading tests was examined. Pretest and posttest data were available for 945 first and second grade students and for 1796 fourth to sixth grade…

The extent, causes, and importance of context effects on item parameters for one- and three-parameter latent-trait models were examined. Items were taken from the California Achievement Tests Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Concepts and Applications subtests. The reading items were administered to 1,678 fourth-grade students, and the…

The relationship between item omission and item position on criterion-referenced tests in the Texas state assessment program is examined. Item statistics from the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) and Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) mathematics and reading tests from 1983 through 1985 are examined for three ethnic…