This article used several data sets from a large-scale state testing program to examine the feasibility of combining general and modified assessment items in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for different groups of students. Results suggested that several of the assumptions made when employing this type of mixed-item CAT may not be met for…

Approximately one-third of American freshmen at two-year and four-year colleges require remedial coursework and over 40 percent of employers rate new hires with a high school diploma as "deficient" in their overall preparation for entry-level jobs. Yet, over the past decade, as these students marched through America's public education…

Standard setting is a method used to set cut scores on large-scale assessments. One of the most popular standard setting methods is the Bookmark method. In the Bookmark method, panelists are asked to envision a response probability (RP) criterion and move through a booklet of ordered items based on a RP criterion. This study investigates whether…

There has been little data collected on how much testing actually goes on in America's schools and how the results are used. So in the Spring of 2014, the Council staff developed and launched a survey of assessment practices. This report presents the findings from that survey and subsequent Council analysis and review of the data. It also offers…

Test items undergo multiple iterations of review before states and vendors deem them acceptable to be placed in a live statewide assessment. This article reviews three approaches that can add validity evidence to states' item review processes. The first process is a structured sensitivity review process that focuses on universal design…

The purpose of this report is to inform users and other interested parties about the development, content and technical characteristics of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments. It provides information for the 2003 "SOL" cycle that comprises the fall 2003 and spring 2004 administrations. The report is divided into three…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is designed to assess progress toward the Delaware Content Standards. Every year a certain number of items are removed from the test and then selected for public release. This booklet contains items released from the 2001 administration of the DSTP Science tests for grades 8 and 11. It contains examples…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is designed to assess progress toward the Delaware Content Standards. Every year a certain number of items are removed from the test and then selected for public release. This booklet contains multiple-choice and short-answer (constructed response) items released from the 2000 or 2001 administration of…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for high school. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student…

This addendum was created to reflect the recommendations of the Mathematics Task Force that met in Arizona to make recommendations to the state Board of Education. The Mathematics Task Force recommended that a core curriculum be identified in the Mathematics Proficiency Standards that would be required of all high school students beginning in the…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is designed to assess progress toward the Delaware Content Standards. Every year a certain number of items are removed from the test and then selected for public release. This booklet contains items released from the 1998 administration of the DSTP mathematics component tests. Taken as a whole, these…

Recommendations for the improvement of the diesel engine and truck components of the Hawaii state certification examination for automobile and truck mechanics were solicited from 14 major private businesses repairing heavy tractor rigs and/or diesel engines on Oahu and a statewide sample of 21 trucking firms and other companies making extensive…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 3. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

This guide is designed to give the student helpful information about Arizona's Instrument To Measure the Standards (AIMS) for grade 5. The guide provides examples of the type of questions students see on AIMS and explains how items are scored. It does not teach what the student needs to know to do well on AIMS, but it will help the student know…

New Hampshire has adopted a standards-based statewide assessment, the New Hampshire Educational Improvement and Assessment Program (NHEIAP), which is designed to measure students' learning against proficiency standards at grades 3, 6, and 10. Because of the difficulty teachers had in interpreting the NHEIAP results, a custom-designed software…