Provides a tutorial on differential item functioning (DIF) and reviews DIFPACK, a new software package that is specifically designed to test for the presence of DIF. DIFPACK allows the user to test for standard unidirectional DIF, DIF in dichotomous items, DIF in polytomous items, and disordinal, or crossing, DIF. (SLD)

The book answers practical questions about item response theory (IRT) in four sections: (1) an introduction to the concepts; (2) IRT theories and principles; (3) fundamentals of IRT; and (4) applications of IRT models. The book is useful for anyone trying to learn about IRT and how to use it. (SLD)

The application of a class of Rasch models is discussed for situations in which test items are grouped into subsets and the common attributes of items within the subsets bring into question the usual assumption of conditional independence. Models are expressed as particular cases of the random coefficients multinomial logit model. (SLD)

Examined convergent and discriminant validity of selected Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--Adolescent (MMPI--A) content scales. A total of 62 adolescent psychiatric inpatients completed the inventory and a battery of self-report measures of constructs similar to the content scales. Findings support validity and potential utility of the…

For trinary partial credit items, the shape of the item information and item discrimination functions is examined in relation to the item parameters. Conditions under which these functions are unimodal and bimodal are discussed, and the locations and values of maxima are derived. Practical relevance of the results is discussed. (SLD)

Examined the frequency of use of various types of reliability coefficients for a sample of 696 tests in a directory published by the American Psychological Association. Coefficient alpha was the overwhelming favorite, and several measures treated almost universally in textbooks were rarely or never used. Identifies problems encountered in the…

Examined the effect of test purification in detecting differential item functioning (DIF) by means of polytomous extensions of the Raju area measures (N. Raju, 1990) and the Lord statistic (F. Lord, 1980). Simulation results suggest the necessity of using a two-stage equating purification process with the Raju exact measures and the Lord statistic…

This book is a compendium of recent item response theory (IRT) research that reviews 27 IRT models. The book contains a historical overview of IRT followed by six sections that deal with the application of a particular IRT model or set of models. (SLD)

Students prepared for classroom examinations by completing practice tests, with selected items from these practice tests repeated, in either the original or in a modified wording, on classroom examinations and a final examination. The availability of immediate self-corrective feedback on Study 1 practice tests (0, 3, or 6 practice tests) was…

Conditional probability and statistical independence can be better explained with contingency tables. In this note some special cases of 2 x 2 contingency tables are considered. In turn an interesting insight into statistical dependence as well as independence of events is obtained.

This study examines whether the Problem Based Economics curriculum developed by the Buck Institute for Education improves grade 12 students' content knowledge as measured by the Test of Economic Literacy, a test refined by the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) over decades. Students' problem-solving skills in economics were also…

The increasing numbers of English language learners (ELLs) in Canadian schools pose a significant challenge to the standards-based provincial tests used to measure proficiency levels of all students from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This study investigated the extent to which reading item bundles or items on the Ontario Secondary…

The purpose of the present study is to examine the language characteristics of a few states' large-scale assessments of mathematics and science and investigate whether the language demands of the items are associated with the degree of differential item functioning (DIF) for English language learner (ELL) students. A total of 542 items from 11…

This article explores the reasoning employed by high school students to answer a set of multiple-choice history questions. The questions come from New York State's Global History and Geography Regents exam. The Regents exams, together with a particularly well-regarded and ambitious set of content standards, are the cornerstone of the state's…

To determine the extent to which knowledge of evidence-based reading instruction and mathematics is assessed on licensure tests for prospective special education teachers, this study drew on information provided by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and National Evaluation Systems (now…