A teacher of English in China describes his experiences teaching the listening component of a summer course designed to help 37 doctoral students improve their English skills before beginning an agricultural economics program. In the listening component, students were to gain experience in notetaking while listening to extended academic lectures.…

Arizona teachers and administrators (n=2,444) were surveyed to determine (1) use of standardized test scores; (2) teachers' perceptions of others' use of scores; (3) how schools prepare students to take tests; (4) conditions under which tests are given; and (5) views of current testing program effects. (SLD)

In 1955, R. Levine introduced two linear equating procedures for the common-item non-equivalent populations design. His procedures make the same assumptions about true scores; they differ in terms of the nature of the equating function used. In this paper, two parameterizations of a classical congeneric model are introduced to model the variables…

A statistical procedure is presented that is designed to test for unidirectional test bias existing simultaneously in several items of an ability test, based on the assumption that test bias is incipient within the two groups' ability differences. The proposed procedure--Simultaneous Item Bias (SIB)--is based on a multidimensional item response…

The project reported here consisted of a sensitivity review of the items of Forms 11, 12, and 13 of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Because administration of this battery is a required step in the accession process, it should be free from perceived bias or offensiveness that could detract from the measurement process. In…

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the relationship between violations of the assumption of unidimensionality, as assessed by the factor analysis of item parcel data, and the quality of item response theory (IRT) true-score equating, as measured by score scale stability. The verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)…

Article examined the validity of some of Piaget's and Bruner's findings in non-western cultures, the relationship between cognitive models that they developed, and the implications for curriculum, teaching and learning of any data newly discovered. (Author/RK)

Four hypotheses regarding stability of response process and response in personality testing are tested and supported. (RC)

Discusses some problems encountered in educating students in a multicultural society. (HMV)

First-grade children of average or above intelligence who did not evidence visual perceptual dysfunction were administered a series of visual perceptual tasks. Results indicated considerable method of measurement influence upon task performance. Implications of the results for both researchers and practitioners are discussed. (Author)

Methods and indices based on item response theory (IRT) for detecting and diagnosing aberrant response patterns are reviewed. These indices are divided into three groups: (1) residuals-based; (2) likelihood-based; and (3) ratio of covariances-based (extended cautions). For each index, the determination of its sampling distribution as well as its…

A study was conducted to further validate the "Watson-Barker Listening Test." The subjects, 120 students enrolled in basic speech courses, completed the Receiver Apprehension Test (RAT) and the Watson-Barker Listening Test: Form A. Statistical analysis of the results revealed a significant correlation between the RAT scores and both the…

Three measures of person-fit (the extent to which an examinee's response pattern on a multiple-choice test is consistent with his ability as estimated by total score) were computed for students taking classroom tests under 12 different instructors at a comprehensive university. Supplementary questions on each test inquired concerning students'…

The paper provides a theoretical framework for the inclusion of a verbal intelligence test as part of the psychodiagnostic assessment battery used with deaf children. Descriptions are provided for three selected sign language varieties being used in a study designed to examine performance of 30 deaf children (9-16 years old) on signed…

More than 50,000 New York City special education students in self-contained classes and resource rooms in grades 2-9 were tested in reading on the California Achievement Test, Form C. Students who had testing modifications recommended on their individualized education programs were tested with the appropriate modification. Among the moderately…