As item response theory has been more widely applied, investigating the fit of a parametric model becomes an important part of the measurement process. There is a lack of promising solutions to the detection of model misfit in IRT. Douglas and Cohen introduced a general nonparametric approach, RISE (Root Integrated Squared Error), for detecting…

Latent trait models provide a new scale for reporting educational and psychological measurements. Characteristics, interpretations, and uses of these scales are considered. (Author/RL)

In this paper, an attempt has been made to synthesize some of the current thinking in the area of criterion-referenced testing as well as to provide the beginning of an integration of theory and method for such testing. Since criterion-referenced testing is viewed from a decision-theoretic point of view, approaches to reliability and validity…

Addressing the shortcomings of classical item statistics for selecting criterion-referenced test items, this paper describes an optimal item selection procedure utilizing item response theory (IRT) and offers examples in which random selection and optimal item selection methods are compared. Theoretical advantages of optimal selection based upon…

The purpose of this research study was to assess item response model-test data fit using residuals. First, a comparison of raw and standardized residuals for describing model-test data fit was carried out. Second, hypotheses concerning the relationship between residual sizes and several item characteristics were studied. The analyses with…

Increasing social awareness of the need for accurate and fair testing has combined with technological developments to produce dramatic advances in psychometric models, methods, and procedures. Three of the most important new directions within the measurement field concern the following areas: (1) item response theory; (2) item bias or differential…

This is one of the outcomes of the work of the Massachusetts Evaluation Service Center for Occupational Education (ESCOE). The purpose of the work described in this report is to provide a set of specific behavioral objectives for woodworking teachers to use in the development of their high school curricula. Special emphasis is given to a…

The validity of several criticisms of objective tests is addressed, and the viability of some alternatives to objective testing is discussed. Evidence against multiple-choice tests is not as strong as has been claimed. Authentic assessments may not always be better, and research about new forms of assessment is necessary. (SLD)

The success of objectives-based programs depends to a considerable extent on how effectively students and teachers assess mastery of objectives and make decisions for future instruction. While educators disagree on the usefulness of criterion-referenced tests the position taken in this monograph is that criterion-referenced tests are useful, and…

This paper highlights some special characteristics of criterion-referenced tests while comparing them with norm-referenced tests. Psychometric considerations involved in constructing a criterion-referenced test, including item analysis, reliability, and validity, are discussed, along with application of criterion-referenced testing to individual…

A review of educational measurement journals indicates that the decade of the 1970s and up until about 1984 was the time when substantial numbers of studies dealt with criterion-referenced measurement, and the era in which criterion-referenced measurement advances were made. Although there appears to be less interest in publications today, a…

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…