The Mantel-Haenszel procedure (MH) is a practical, inexpensive, and powerful way to detect test items that function differently in two groups of examinees. MH is a natural outgrowth of previously suggested chi square methods, and it is also related to methods based on item response theory. The study of items that function differently for two…

A method for equating test scores between two standardized achievement testing programs was developed. The first test was the Survey of Basic Skills (SBS) published by Science Research Associates. The second was the Tests of Individual Performance (TIP) of the Portland Public Schools in Oregon. Scores reported in Rasch units (RIT) from the TIP…

The feasibility of using item response theory (IRT) as a psychometric model for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Aptitude Test was addressed by assessing the reasonableness of the assumptions of item response theory for GRE item types and examinee populations. Items from four forms and four administrations of the GRE Aptitude Test were…

A subset of Statistical Process Control (SPC) methodology known as Control Charting is introduced. SPC methodology is a collection of graphical and inferential statistics techniques used to study the progress of phenomena over time. The types of control charts covered are the null X (mean), R (Range), X (individual observations), MR (moving…

The relationship between analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods and their analogs (analysis of covariance and multiple analyses of variance and covariance--collectively referred to as OVA methods) and the more general analytic case is explored. A small heuristic data set is used, with a hypothetical sample of 20 subjects, randomly assigned to five…

Although there is a healthy trend toward employment of multivariate statistical methods in the analysis of data from experiments in psychology and education which involve multiple dependent variables, there remains a need to demonstrate the wide variety of data analytic techniques available for post hoc analysis of statistically significant…

Differential item performance (DIP) is discussed as a concept that does not necessarily imply item bias or unfairness to subgroups of examinees. With curriculum-based achievement tests, DIP is presented as a valid reflection of group differences in requisite skills and instruction. Using data from a national testing of the ACT Assessment, this…

Authors who write introductory business statistics texts do not agree on when to use a t distribution and when to use a Z distribution in both the construction of confidence intervals and the use of hypothesis testing. In a survey of textbooks written in the last 15 years, we found the decision rules to be contradictory and, at times, the…

The Feldt-Gilmer congeneric reliability coefficients make it possible to estimate the reliability of a test composed of parts of unequal, unknown length. The approximate standard errors of the Feldt-Gilmer coefficients are derived via a method using the multivariate Taylor's expansion. Monte Carlo simulation is employed to corroborate the…

Two fundamental problems in mental test theory are to estimate true score and to estimate the amount of error when testing an examinee. In this report, three probability models which characterize a single test item in terms of a population of examinees are described. How these models may be modified to characterize a single examinee in terms of an…

A Monte Carlo Study was conducted to evaluate six models commonly used to evaluate change. The results revealed specific problems with each. Analysis of covariance and analysis of variance of residualized gain scores appeared to substantially and consistently overestimate the change effects. Multiple factor analysis of variance models utilizing…

TO DETERMINE WHETHER A CORRELATION EXISTS BETWEEN PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO IMPLEMENT INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION, CATTELL'S 16 P.F. QUESTIONNAIRE AND A THREE-PART SCALE ON INNOVATION WERE EMPLOYED TO GATHER DATA FROM 93 IDAHO SUPERINTENDENTS AND 71 SUPERINTENDENTS FROM 12 OTHER STATES WHO HAD BEEN…

Several methods of assessing test item bias are described, and the concept of fair use of tests is examined. A test item is biased if individuals of equal ability have different probabilities of attaining the item correct. The following seven general procedures used to examine test items for bias are summarized and discussed: (1) analysis of…

Using estimates of item ease and item discrimination, procedures are provided for computing estimates of the reliability and percentage of failing scores for tests assembled from these items. Two assumptions are made: that the average item coefficient will be approximately equal to the average of the estimated coefficients and that the score…