Both the attenuation paradox of traditional test theory and the assumption of local independence in person-item response theory have caused problems in interpretation. This paper demonstrates that the two are related concepts, and, through this demonstration, both are clarified. It is demonstrated that the breakdown of local independence leads to…

Issues concerning equating test scores are discussed in an introduction, four papers, and two commentaries. Equating methods research, sampling errors, linear equating, population differences, sources of equating errors, and a circular equating paradigm are considered. (SLD)

Test scores that are not perfectly reliable cannot be strictly equated unless they are strictly parallel. This fact implies that tau equivalence can be lost if an equipercentile equating is applied to observed scores that are not strictly parallel. Thirty-six simulated data sets are produced to simulate equating tests with different difficulties…

A detailed description of five latent structure models of achievement measurement is presented. The first project paper, by David L. McArthur, analyzes the history of mental testing to show how conventional item analysis procedures were developed, and how dissatisfaction with them has led to fragmentation. The range of distinct conceptual and…

Efforts to study the fidelity of translation of attitudinal scales into foreign languages have faltered due to the lack of powerful statistical tests to assess such transformations. This study uses a maximum likelihood factor analysis procedure to compare multivariate factor structures across subpopulations. The results showed that inconsistent…

This paper describes the development of a language arts test to assess the consistency of student response patterns and the feasibility of using the test to diagnose students' misconceptions. The studies were part of a project to develop computerized adaptive testing for the language arts with software to diagnose student errors. The…

During 1975-1979 this research into the potential of computerized adaptive testing to reduce errors in the measurement of human capabilities used Marine recruits for a live-testing validity comparison of computerized adaptive and conventional tests. The program purposes were to: (1) identify the most useful computer-based adaptive testing…

Some examinees' test-taking behavior may be so idiosyncratic that their scores are not comparable to the scores of more typical examinees. Appropriateness indices, which provide quantitative measures of response-pattern atypicality, can be viewed as statistics for testing a null hypothesis of normal test-taking behavior against an alternative…

Recent experience with the Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) has raised a number of concerns about its practical applications. The concerns are principally involved with the concept of having the computer construct the test from a precalibrated item pool, and substituting statistical characteristics for the test developer's skills. Problems with…

During a three-year project (1977-1980) on computerized adaptive achievement testing, item characteristic curve theory (ICC) and adaptive testing strategies designed almost exclusively for ability testing were applied to achievement testing. Adaptive techniques substantially reduced test length without reducing quality, when applied to three…

This report describes the development, operation, maintenance, and future prospects of the item banks pioneered by the Portland (Oregon) School District. At the time of this report, there were 3,500 mathematics, 2,200 reading, and 2,300 language usage items calibrated under the fixed parameter model of item response theory (IRT) for Grades 3-8.…

This report was designed to respond to two major methodological shortcomings in the item bias literature: (1) misfitting test models; and (2) the use of significance tests. Specifically, the goals of the research were to describe a newly developed method known as the "plot method" for identifying potentially biased test items and to…