Theoretical issues underlying the development of scales of language proficiency are examined. First, a brief classification of scale types is presented, and problems identified in them and advantages they offer are outlined. Discussion then moves to the issues of describing and measuring language proficiency. In this section, behaviorally-based…

From primary grades, students are exposed to both standardized and classroom tests. While teacher-made classroom tests may contain multiple choice, constructed response, or essay items, standardized tests, on the other hand, primarily rely on the multiple-choice format. Standardized tests are easy and inexpensive to administer and score, amenable…

In an exploration of customizing the Major Field Achievement Test in Political Science (MFATPS), developed by the Educational Testing Service, a questionnaire was sent to the heads of political science and joint departments which offer a bachelor's degree in Political Science. A total of 1,017 departments were surveyed in January 1990; 293…

Authentic measurement has become an important topic recently in educational testing. Advocates of authentic measurement feel that objective tests, multiple-choice tests in particular, cannot meet the demands required of today's tests and should be replaced by tests that can be closely matched to instruction and can assess higher-order cognitive…

As part of a study of teacher evaluation of student replies to open-ended questions, a second question--the best method of determining interrater reliability--was examined. The standard method, the Pearson Product-Moment correlation, overestimated the degree of match between researchers' and teachers' scoring of tests. The simpler percent…

Appropriateness measurement is a general approach to the problem caused by multiple choice tests failing to measure accurately the ability of atypical examinees. The conceptual framework of appropriateness measurement is presented, and several statistical indices of the appropriateness of a multiple choice test for an examinee are noted. A series…

The Perry scheme of intellectual and ethical development has become widely used in a range of academic disciplines and such areas as career training and faculty consultation. However, current measurement techniques for the scheme, whether interview format or paper and pencil measures, do not adequately address issues related to assessing cognitive…

Problems related to the study of second language learners are described, and the factors affecting language development are discussed. Factors influential in second language learning include psychological, sociological, and affective aspects. Similarly, the measurement of language has been influenced by linguistic, psychological, and social…

This study examined efficacy of different story collection procedures with normally developing (N=10) and language disordered (N=6) preschool children. Factor analyses probed such possible interfering factors as home vs. school environments, familiarity of the story requester, coaxing cues, stimulus structure, and presence of such props as dolls…

Public concern about substance abuse, fueled by political and media attention, is causing school administrators to consider a variety of approaches beyond traditional drug education. No procedures, methods, or rules regarding drug testing should be established in the absence of clear school board policy, and no policy decisions should be made…

Factor analysis is the traditional method for studying the dimensionality of test data. However, under common conditions, the factor analysis of tetrachoric correlations does not recover the underlying structure of dichotomous data. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the factor analyses of tetrachoric correlations is unlikely to…

Information on statistical detection of two different kinds of unethical activity associated with standardized testing is presented. The first is advance presentation of specific test items or excessive coaching using items very similar to those on a test. Cluster analysis is recommended for detection of aberrant vectors of percentages correct on…

This study was designed to determine if the decline evidenced in the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for mathematics is a true reflection of a decrease in students' mathematical ability, or is a result of the inadequacy of the test in measuring students' mathematical abilities. The data consisted of…

A method is proposed for the detection of item bias with respect to observed or unobserved subgroups. The method uses quasi-loglinear models for the incomplete subgroup x test score x item 1 x ... x item k contingency table. If the subgroup membership is unknown, the models are the incomplete-latent-class models of S. J. Haberman (1979). The…

The use of loglinear latent class models to detect item bias was studied. Purposes of the study were to: (1) develop procedures for use in assessing item bias when the grouping variable with respect to which bias occurs is not observed; (2) develop bias detection procedures that relate to a conceptually different assessed trait--a categorical…