Best linear prediction (BLP) and penalized best linear prediction (PBLP) are techniques for combining sources of information to produce task scores, section scores, and composite test scores. The report examines issues to consider in operational implementation of BLP and PBLP in testing programs administered by ETS [Educational Testing Service].

In many testing programs it is assumed that the context or position in which an item is administered does not have a differential effect on examinee responses to the item. Violations of this assumption may bias item response theory estimates of item and person parameters. This study examines the potentially biasing effects of item position. A…

Test disclosure legislation in New York State (LaValle Act) has had a major impact on the national testing programs administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS) for various sponsoring organizations. The paper reviews the immediate operational effects of test disclosure in the following areas: (1) increase in number of test forms developed;…

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…

This study was designed to describe and analyze (1) the performance of foreign candidates taking the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test in relation to self-reported primary language (English vs. other), and (2) relationships between performance on the respective admissions tests and…

The study reported here was intended to "round out" the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board's continuing study of special test preparation for the GRE General Test by providing information that was previously unavailable on the effects of one kind of special test preparation--self-test-familiarization for the verbal and quantitative…

The research leading to the decisions to revise the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test (GRE) (beginning in October 1981) is reviewed. The issues discussed include the format of the test (the timing of each section and the number of sections, the content of the sections--especially the analytical section), the scoring procedure for the GRE,…

This study evaluated agreement between expert system and human scores on 12 algebra word problems taken by Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test examinees from a general sample of 285 and a study sample of 30. Problems were drawn from three content classes (rate x time, work, and interest) and presented in four constructed-response…

The nature of percentile ranks scores is explored using concrete heuristic examples. It is explained why arithmetic operations require measurement on equal-interval scales, and that percentile ranks are not measured on equal-interval scales and therefore may not be added or averaged. The consequences of inappropriately adding percentile ranks are…

The main purpose of this paper is to facilitate discussion of important issues concerning validity and to work toward a framework that the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board Research Committee will find useful in assigning priorities and initiating projects. The background, scope, and meaning of the concept of the "validity" of the…

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) program is described in this article from the standpoint of the policy-making and administrative arrangement which provide the context within which the Advanced Literature and 22 other similar tests exist. The development and dissemination of the Advanced Tests is outlined. A discussion of policy-making and…

A report on tests used by California undergraduate institutions and by graduate and professional schools is presented by the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Information is provided on five tests used by undergraduate colleges: the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, the Scholastic…

This article describes the results of a three-year investigation into cheating by school personnel. The goals of this research were to measure the prevalence of cheating by teachers and administrators and to analyze the factors that predict cheating. Using data on test scores and student records from the Chicago Public Schools, the authors…

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Cooperative Validity Studies Project began in 1975 to fill the need for cooperation between graduate schools and testing agencies and for graduate level validity studies. More than 150 data sets from the 39 participating schools, representing over 19 fields of study, were analyzed. The data confirmed earlier…

Emphasized in this speech are the innovative practices in the standardized foreign language testing programs sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) and the Modern Language Association (MLA). The CEEB projected listening and reading "composite tests" and changes in the French and Latin Advanced Placement Tests are…