In a targeted double-scoring procedure for performance assessments that are used for licensure and certification purposes, a subset of responses receives an independent second rating if the first rating falls into a preidentified critical score range (CSR) where an additional rating would lead to considerably more reliable pass-fail decisions.…

Linear functional relationships are intended to be symmetric and therefore cannot generally be accurately estimated using ordinary least squares regression equations. Orthogonal regression (OR) models allow for errors in both "Y" and "X" and therefore can provide symmetric estimates of these relationships. The most…

Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression provides optimal linear predictions of a dependent variable, y, given an independent variable, x, but OLS regressions are not symmetric or reversible. In order to get optimal linear predictions of x given y, a separate OLS regression in that direction would be needed. This report provides a least squares…

In recent years, harmonic regression models have been applied to implement quality control for educational assessment data consisting of multiple administrations and displaying seasonality. As with other types of regression models, it is imperative that model adequacy checking and model fit be appropriately conducted. However, there has been no…

Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and orthogonal regression (OR) address different questions and make different assumptions about errors. The OLS regression of Y on X yields predictions of a dependent variable (Y) contingent on an independent variable (X) and minimizes the sum of squared errors of prediction. It assumes that the independent…

Scenario-based writing assessment has two salient characteristics by design: a lead-in/essay scaffolding structure and a unified scenario/topic throughout. In this study, we examine whether the scenario-based assessment design would impact students' essay scores compared to its alternative conditions, which intentionally broke the scaffolding…

For educational tests, it is critical to maintain consistency of score scales and to understand the sources of variation in score means over time. This practice helps to ensure that interpretations about test takers' abilities are comparable from one administration (or one form) to another. This study examines the consistency of reported scores…

In this study, we examined the potential impact of item misfit on the reported scores of an admission test from the subpopulation invariance perspective. The target population of the test consisted of 3 major subgroups with different geographic regions. We used the logistic regression function to estimate item parameters of the operational items…

In this research report, we present an empirical argument for the use of a contributory scoring approach for the 2-essay writing assessment of the analytical writing section of the "GRE"® test in which human and machine scores are combined for score creation at the task and section levels. The approach was designed to replace a currently…

In this study, we developed assistive tools and resources to support TOEIC® Listening test item generation. There has recently been an increased need for a large pool of items for these tests. This need has, in turn, inspired efforts to increase the efficiency of item generation while maintaining the quality of the created items. We aimed to…

Logistic regression (LR)-based methods have become increasingly popular for predicting and articulating cut scores. However, the precision of predictive relationships is largely dependent on the underlying correlations between the predictor and the criterion. In two simulation studies, we evaluated the impact of varying the underlying grade-level…

Many aspects of the geometry of linear statistical models and least squares estimation are well known. Discussions of the geometry may be found in many sources. Some aspects of the geometry relating to the partitioning of variation that can be explained using a little-known theorem of Pappus and have not been discussed previously are the topic of…

This article explores the use of longitudinal regression as a tool for identifying scoring inaccuracies. Student progression patterns, as evaluated through longitudinal regressions, typically are more stable from year to year than are scale score distributions and statistics, which require representative samples to conduct credibility checks.…

The report is the first systematic evaluation of the sentence equivalence item type introduced by the "GRE"® revised General Test. We adopt a validity framework to guide our investigation based on Kane's approach to validation whereby a hierarchy of inferences that should be documented to support score meaning and interpretation is…

In educational measurement contexts, essays have been evaluated and formative feedback has been given based on the end product. In this study, we used a large sample collected from middle school students in the United States to investigate the factor structure of the writing process features gathered from keystroke logs and the association of that…