Investigations of static strength and relative endurance of the grip muscles of women athletes revealed that mean endurance time was significantly greater than for men. Results were discussed in light of evidence suggesting possible sex differences in muscle hypertrophy, capillarization of muscle tissue, critical occluding tension level, and…

This study was patterned after a previous study by Skaggs and Lissitz (1992) in which inconsistency of differential item functioning (DIF) was reported across test administrations. They suggested multidimensionality of test data as one possible reason for inconsistency. Therefore, in this study, DIF indices which were developed recently with a…

Evaluated college counseling center usage for students encouraged to return for feedback on freshmen tests. Students who initially approached the center to request feedback on tests were more likely to obtain counseling for nontest-related problems than students who never requested test results. More men requested feedback prior to requesting…

Measurement properties of the written rules tests were examined to determine their suitability for assessing driver knowledge and skill. It was concluded that the tests, as measurement tools for granting or renewing a driver's license, were not adequate. Recommendations for test improvement and a sample test copy are included. (AG)

The purpose of this study was to examine rater, domain, and gender influences on the assessed quality of student writing using weighted and unweighted scores. Twenty rates were randomly selected from a group of 87 operational raters contracted to rate essays as part of the 1993 field test of the Georgia High School Writing Test. All of the raters…

The records of graduates of Iowa high schools who entered the University of Iowa as freshmen in the fall of 1977 were secured in cooperation with the Iowa Testing Program. Test scores for grades 4, 6, and 8 on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and for grade 11 on the Iowa Tests of Educational Development were obtained for all students whose scores…

Differential functioning of males and females on achievement test items was studied in a sample of 110,000 students in kindergarten through grade 12. First, item parameters and ability estimates for these parameters were obtained from LOGIST computer program runs for the entire group. Predicted performance for each item for each group was…

Describes and illustrates the performance differences observed between boys and girls on California's history-social science assessments. Provides specific recommendations about what classroom teachers can do to help reduce these differences. (GEA)

Gender differences in answers to constructed-response reading items from a state assessment program were studied with four raters rating approximately 500 papers at two grade levels. Results indicate that number of words written and number of unrelated responses show significant gender differences and are related to holistic scores. (SLD)

The correlations of each of the 22 tests in the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation battery with all other tests in the battery are listed. Four fairly large samples are used, each including cases of one sex and a narrow age range. These cases come from a file of 3,555 examinees tested between June 1981 and the fall of 1982. The purpose of…

A procedure used to average several Mantel-Haenszel delta difference values for an item is described and evaluated. The differential item functioning (DIF) procedure used by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) is based on the Mantel-Haenszel statistical technique for studying matched groups. It is standard procedure at ETS to analyze test items…

To understand the achievement gap between Black and White students, test performance on Delaware statewide assessments was studied. The study focused on Black-White test score gaps in reading, mathematics, and writing across grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 by achievement level, item format, and gender within each racial/ethnic group over time. The…

The accountability subset of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) was studied over 4 years to identify trends that might explain why the 1999 TAAS passing rate did not decrease as was predicted. Expanding the accountability index in those years to include special education students was expected to cause a decline in the TAAS…

Examined data from several national testing programs to determine whether the change from paper-based administration to computer-based tests influences group differences in performance. Results from four college and graduate entrance examinations and a professional licensing test show that African Americans and, to a lesser degree, Hispanics,…

The U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) administered basic skills achievement tests to cadets enrolled in Military Science I (MSI) and Military Science IV (MSIV): Missouri College English Test, Nelson-Denny Reading Test, and Stanford Achievement Test: High School Mathematics. The samples adequately represented geographic regions and…