Intelligence tests have been used in the United States since the early 1900s for assessing soldiers during World War I (Kaufman & Harrison, 2008; White & Hall, 1980). Presently, cognitive assessments are used in school, civil service, military, clinical, and industry settings (White & Hall, 1980). Although the results of these…

Categorical data become increasingly ubiquitous in the modern big data era. In this dissertation, we propose novel statistical learning and inference methods for large-scale categorical data, focusing on latent variable models and their applications to psychometrics. In psychometric assessments, the subjects' underlying aptitude often cannot be…

Since No Child Left Behind was introduced, kindergarten through 12th-grade educators have seen a dramatic increase in accountability, rigor of standards, and responsibilities in the classroom (New America Foundation, 2015). In order to meet the increased demands of federal education regulations in second through fourth grades, many administrators…

A significant gap exists between the graduation rate of students with disabilities and their nondisabled. The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to determine the relationship self-determination had on college and career readiness using ACT scores of students with high incident disabilities. This study was guided by the following…

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of a teacher's preparation program on the academic achievement of eighth grade students in the areas of mathematics, reading, science, and social studies. Prior to the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, the majority of classroom teachers earned their teaching…

Testing programs often use multiple test forms of the same test to control item exposure and to ensure test security. Although test forms are constructed to be as similar as possible, they often differ. Test equating techniques are those statistical methods used to adjust scores obtained on different test forms of the same test so that they are…

This study examined the effect of hormonal fluctuations on women's performance on sexually dimorphic cognitive tasks. Thirty-six participants were recruited through introduction to psychology courses at three colleges. Participants were assessed using the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Ability III (WJ III COG), which is a commonly-used, widely…

This ex post facto, participatory action research study investigated the relationship between a criterion-referenced, inventory-based reading assessment and the standardized Third Grade Reading Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA). The study, conducted in a suburban Ohio district where the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) has been used since…

The purpose of this study was to develop an IRT model that would enable the estimation of decision indices based on composite scores. The composite scores, defined as a combination of unidimensional test scores, were either a total raw score or an average scale score. Additionally, estimation methods for the normal and compound multinomial models…

Study of the language and literacy skills of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) has evolved over the past thirty years. Despite these advances, little research has explored the process of reading by incorporating an authentic text (i.e. storybook). This information is pertinent to assist in the understanding of language and literacy and the…

This study provided a preliminary analysis of concurrent and discriminative validity for the "Early Literacy Progress Monitoring Assessment Tool" (ELP-MAT; Kaderavek, 2009). Sixty preschool students between the ages of 3 years, 6 months and 5 years of age, from early childhood programs in Northwest Ohio, participated in the study. The…

The reporting of scores on educational tests is at times misunderstood, misinterpreted, and potentially confusing to examinees and other stakeholders who may need to interpret test scores. In reporting test results to examinees, there is a need for clarity in the message communicated. As pressure rises for students to demonstrate performance at a…

High-stakes assessments have encouraged educators to ignore the needs of the top performers. Therefore, the Oakwood School District decided to implement a mathematics pilot enrichment program in order to meet the needs of the advanced mathematics students. As a result, this study used quantitative data to determine if there was a significant…

This study investigates principals' individual and aggregate perceptions of and expectations for students who use African American Vernacular English. Using the African American English Teacher Attitude Scale (AAETAS), the study seeks to describe the relationship between principals' demographic characteristics and their perceptions of African…

In writing assessment, there are quite a number of factors influencing the marking stability and the reliability of the assessment such as the attitude towards marking and consistency of markers, the physical environment, the design of the items, and marking rubrics. Even the methods to train markers have effects on the reliability of the…