Examined in this study were the effects of reducing anchor test length on student proficiency rates for 12 multiple-choice tests administered in an annual, large-scale, high-stakes assessment. The anchor tests contained 15 items, 10 items, or five items. Five content representative samples of items were drawn at each anchor test length from a…

A norm distribution consisting of test scores received by 810 college students on a 150 item dichotomously-scored four-alternative multiple-choice test was empirically estimated through several item-examinee sampling procedures. The post mortem item-sampling investigation was specifically designed to manipulate systematically the variables of…

This research examined 2 elements of multiple-choice test construction, balancing the key and optimal number of options. In Experiment 1 the 3 conditions included a balanced key, overrepresentation of a and b responses, and overrepresentation of c and d responses. The results showed that error-patterns were independent of the key, reflecting…

The present study suggests that although the reliability of an academic aptitude test given under formula-score condition can be increased substantially through empirical option weighting, much of the increase is due to the capitalization of the keying procedure on omitting tendencies which are reliable but not valid. (Author)

Two psychometric models are presented for evaluating the difficulty of the distractors in multiple-choice items. They are based on the criterion of rising distractor selection ratios, which facilitates interpretation of the subject and item parameters. Statistical inferential tools are developed in a Bayesian framework: modal a posteriori…

The present research was initiated to investigate whether item-sampling as a procedure would yield a more accurate and stable index of student achievement during formative evaluation when compared to indices arrived at by the traditional method of assessing pupil knowledge and understandings within the framework of multiple choice testing for…

In an examination designed by a medical specialty board, six tests were administered to groups of candidates for certification to investigate the feasibility of using videotapes of doctor-patient interactions to assess candidates' ability to note signs of potential physical disorders during a patient's physical examination and history taking, and…