The purpose of this study is to apply the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) to a subset of SAT critical reading items and illustrate how the method can be used to promote cognitive diagnostic inferences. The AHM is a psychometric procedure for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of attribute mastery patterns associated with…

The objective of the present investigation was to compare the adequacy of two cognitive models for predicting examinee performance on a sample of algebra I and II items from the March 2005 administration of the SAT[TM]. The two models included one generated from verbal reports provided by 21 examinees as they solved the SAT[TM] items, and the…

The purpose of this study is to apply the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) to a sample of SAT algebra items administered in March 2005. The AHM is a psychometric method for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of structured attribute patterns associated with different components from a cognitive model of task performance. An…

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.

Twenty-four students who scored 650 or more on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Mathematics test (SAT-M) were asked to think aloud while solving 13 mathematics items in either multiple-choice or free-response format. Strategies students used to solve the items were classified as either algorithmic or insightful. Data analyses indicated that items in…

An item classification scheme developed by A. M. Gallagher (1990) was refined, resulting in a more accurate prediction of sex differences in the mathematical sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Differential Item Functioning (DIF) procedures for examinees scoring over 650 indicated that the majority of items favoring males required the…