With the shift to next generation digital assessments, increased attention has focused on Technology-Enhanced Assessments and Items (TEIs). This study evaluated the feasibility of a high-fidelity digital assessment item response format, which allows students to solve mathematics questions on a tablet using a digital pen. This digital ink approach…

Measurement errors attributable to cultural issues are complex and challenging for educational assessments. We need assessment tests sensitive to the cultural heterogeneity of populations, and psychometric methods appropriate to address fairness and equity concerns. Built on the research of culturally responsive assessment, this dissertation…

Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) have increasingly been incorporated into state education policies over the past 5 years, with much of this interest stemming from Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) awards, Enhanced Assessment Grants, and nationwide efforts to develop common K-12 state learning standards. Drawing on…

The authors conducted a qualitative meta-analysis of the research on assessment accommodations for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. There were 16 identified studies that analyzed the impact of factors related to student performance on academic assessments across different educational settings, content areas, and types of assessment…

The authors conducted a qualitative meta-analysis of the research on assessment accommodations for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. There were 16 identified studies that analyzed the impact of factors related to student performance on academic assessments across different educational settings, content areas, and types of assessment…

The increased capabilities offered by digital technologies offer new opportunities to evaluate students' deeper knowledge and skills and on constructs that are difficult to measure using traditional methods. Such assessments can also incorporate tools and interfaces that improve accessibility for diverse students, as well as inadvertently…

Previous research has shown that rapid-guessing behavior can degrade the validity of test scores from low-stakes proficiency tests. This study examined, using hierarchical generalized linear modeling, examinee and item characteristics for predicting rapid-guessing behavior. Several item characteristics were found significant; items with more text…

This study investigated factors related to score differences on computerized and paper-and-pencil versions of a series of primary K-3 reading tests. Factors studied included item and student characteristics. The results suggest that the score differences were more related to student than item characteristics. These student characteristics include…

The purpose of the study was to determine comparability of an online version to the original paper-pencil version of Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). This study employed methods from both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Findings from CTT analyses supported the reliability and discriminant validity of both versions.…

Examinee response times from a computerized adaptive test taken by 204 examinees taking a certification examination were analyzed using a hierarchical linear model. Two equations were posed: a within-person model and a between-person model. Variance within persons was eight times greater than variance between persons. Several variables…

This study investigated the transfer of solution strategies between close variants of quantitative reasoning questions. Pre- and posttests were obtained from 406 college undergraduates, all of whom took the same posttest; pretests varied such that one group of participants saw close variants of one set of posttest items while other groups saw…

Volunteer college students were assigned to one of six computer administered vocabulary tests, one half with immediate knowledge of results (KR) after responding to each item, and the other half without knowledge of results. The six tests were designed to be at one of three levels of difficulty and consisted either of 50 preselected items…

Investigates the performance of students from different language backgrounds, using data from a computer-adaptive Japanese grammar test developed as a placement tool. Findings indicate item difficulties to be quite different for each group of candidates and imply that when candidates are from a different background from that of the trial…

Research on the major computerized adaptive testing (CAT) strategies is reviewed, and some findings are reported that examine effects of examinee demographic and psychological characteristics on CAT strategies. In fixed branching strategies, all examinees respond to a common routing test, the score of which is used to assign examinees to a…