Middle school data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are analyzed in this study to compare achievement differences between adjacent grades. To facilitate this computer-based analysis, a Statistical Analysis System (SAS) program has been developed to transpose matrices of the item scores in more than 40 countries.…

A 20-item survey was designed in 4 forms with response set direction as "strongly disagree" (SD) to "strongly agree" (SA) and SA to SD crossed with the absence or presence of negatively worded item stems. The primary research question related to finding a primacy effect when comparing the two response direction formats. Surveys…

This volume and its companion, "Part 2," bring together transactions of the Rasch measurement special interest group of the American Educational Research Association. This volume opens with a discussion of the early years in Rasch measurement and then presents the "transactions" in chronological order, from a 1987 discussion…

This volume and its companion, "Part 1," bring together transactions of the Rasch measurement special interest group of the American Educational Research Association. It presents "transactions" in chronological order, from a 1992 discussion through the winter 1995 volume. Four issues of the "Transactions" are…

Methods to control the test construct and the efficiency of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) were studied in the context of a reading comprehension test given as a part of a battery of tests for college admission. A goal of the study was to create test scores that were interchangeable with those from a fixed form paper and pencil test. The first…

This is the College Board's response to Roy O. Freedle's article in the Harvard Educational Review, entitled "Correcting the SAT's Ethnic and Social Class Bias: A Method for Reestimating SAT Scores." It is the authors' view that Freedle has presented no argument that would justify removing or de-emphasizing a critical college success…

Undergraduate students completed a regular class test of 35 multiple-choice items, interspersed with five humorous verbal items written in multiple-choice format or selected syndicated cartoons. A questionnaire revealed that, although student perceptions of test humor were positive, they were less positive about verbal items. (Author/CM)

A three-year research project in England investigated the probability concepts of students aged 11-16. A 26-item test was administered to 2,930 students. The development and test results of one item are presented to illustrate the difficulty of item construction and interpretation. (MNS)

Each of six forms of a 10-item teacher evaluation rating scale, having two to seven response categories per form, was administered to over 100 college students. Means of item responses and item variances increased with the number of response categories. Internal consistency of total scores did not change systematically. (Author/PN)

A special preparation curriculum for the analytical section of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test was developed and administered to self-selected GRE candidates. Analyses revealed an effect that stemmed from improved performance on two of the three analytical item types formerly included in the analytical section. (Author/PN)

Argues that, in determining if a standardized test task and a classroom performance task are the same, educators should carefully analyze the tasks in terms of the input modality (stimulus) and the output modality (response). (FL)

Two studies examined the extent to which test takers use plausibility as a method for locating correct responses when guessing and the extent to which scores can be improved by teaching test takers this approach. Results confirm that this aspect of multiple choice items merits further consideration by test constructors. (Author/BW)

Reports the results of a study that examined the technical adequacy of three selected informal reading inventory procedures. (AEA)

With college graduate students in actual classroom settings, the effects of taking a recall test, a recognition test, or no test on retention four weeks later were studied. Results indicated that simply taking an exam had no significant effect on retention. (Author/GK)

The distinctiveness of the subscale structure of an attitude instrument, the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA), was examined. Factor analysis of the item correlation matrix obtained from student responses suggested that the seven subscales of the test were not distinct. (Author/GK)