Differential item functioning (DIF) is often used to examine validity evidence of alternate form test accommodations. Unfortunately, traditional approaches for evaluating DIF are prone to selection bias. This article proposes a novel DIF framework that capitalizes on regression discontinuity design analysis to control for selection bias. A…

Linking score scales across different tests is considered speculative and fraught, even at the aggregate level. We introduce and illustrate validation methods for aggregate linkages, using the challenge of linking U.S. school district average test scores across states as a motivating example. We show that aggregate linkages can be validated both…

In international achievement studies, questionnaires typically ask about the presence of particular household assets in students' homes. Responses to the assets questions are used to compute a total score, which is intended to represent household wealth in models of test performance. This study uses item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis…

The performance was studied of five small-sample statistics--by F. M. Lord, W. Kristof, Q. McNemar, R. A. Forsyth and L. S. Feldt, and J. P. Braden--that test whether two variables measure the same trait except for measurement error. Effects of non-normality were investigated. The McNemar statistic was most powerful. (TJH)

The accuracy and variability of 4 cross-validation procedures and 18 formulas were compared concerning their ability to estimate the population multiple correlation and the validity of the sample regression equation in the population. The investigation included two types of regression, multiple and stepwise; three sample sizes, N = 30, 60, 120;…

The sampling errors of maximum likelihood estimates of item-response theory parameters are studied in the case where both people and item parameters are estimated simultaneously. A check on the validity of the standard error formulas is carried out. The effect of varying sample size, test length, and the shape of the ability distribution is…

The sampling of teachers for nationwide surveys offers a challenging endeavor in obtaining a representative and adequate sample to truly represent opinions of the teachers. Ten national surveys of public school teachers conducted between 1980 and 1985 are presented with respect to their sampling design and procedures. Concepts and theoretical…

The nine-volume Survey Kit is designed to help readers prepare and conduct surveys and become better users of survey results. All the books in the series contain instructional objectives, exercises and answers, examples of surveys in use, illustrations of survey questions, guidelines for action, checklists of "dos and don'ts," and…