Item banks, large sets of test items, can be used for the construction of achievement tests. Mathematical programming models have been proposed for the selection of items from an item bank for a test. These models make automated test construction possible. However, to find an optimal or even an approximate optimal solution to a test construction…

In an effort to improve the ways in which words are learned, the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation (JOCRF) is attempting to determine the difficulty level of all non-technical words in the English language. This item banking project entails: (1) identifying words that should be calibrated; (2) writing a test item for each word; (3) testing the…

In connection with the development of item pools for the Navy's experimental Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) system, items in five different content areas (General Science, Paragraph Composition, Word Knowledge, Math Knowledge, and Arithmetic Reasoning) have been calibrated using item response theory (IRT) methodology. Operational Armed…

The Test Analysis Package (TAP) consists of three microcomputer programs that edit, score, summarize, and analyze student test data. Features of the TAP system include: (1) an editor that allows creation of a student test data file without the use of a separate word processor; (2) a scoring mechanism that can score a test data file of 999 students…

Two optimalization models for the construction of tests with a maximal value of coefficient alpha are given. Both models have a linear form and can be solved by using a branch-and-bound algorithm. The first model assumes an item bank calibrated under the Rasch model and can be used, for instance, when classical test theory has to serve as an…

This set of materials represents the first three workshops in a series of five designed to assist school districts and educators to develop their own curriculum-referenced tests. The series has been assembled to provide school districts with a relatively inexpensive test development method. The series is designed to reduce costs by pooling…

This study assesses the accuracy of ASCAL, a microcomputer-based program for estimating item parameters for the three-parameter logistic model in item response theory. Item responses are generated from a three-parameter model, and item parameter estimates from ASCAL are compared to the generating item parameters and to estimates produced by…

The following discussions and workshops were presented at a conference on assessing higher order thinking skills organized by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory: (1) "Assessing Higher Order Thinking Skills--Issues and Practices" by S. Rankin; (2) "Writing Multiple-Choice Critical Thinking Items (part 1)" by S. P.…

This report describes the sequence of activities that took place as the Examination Division of the New Jersey Department of Civil Service introduced a word processing system for a test item bank and for production of camera-ready test copy. The equipment selection, installation and orientation procedures are discussed. Keyboard and CRT terminals,…

Multiple matrix sampling (MMS) theory indicates how data may be gathered to most efficiently convey information about levels of attainment in a population, but standard analyses of these data require random sampling of items from a fixed pool of items. This assumption proscribes the retirement of flawed or obsolete items from the pool as well as…

The "Test Development Notebook" is a resource designed for the preparation of tests of literal comprehension for students in grades 1 through 12. This volume contains 120 multiple-choice cloze exercises taken from front page stories, feature stories, and editorials of newspapers; and the accompanying answer key. Each exercise carries the code…

The "Test Development Notebook" is a resource designed for the preparation of tests of literal comprehension for students in grades 1 through 12. This volume contains 120 multiple-choice cloze exercises taken from news magazines, and the accompanying answer key. Each exercise carries the code letter of the section to which it belongs.…

A common problem arises in scale transformation when independent estimates of item parameters from two separate data sets must be expressed in the same metric. These item parameter estimates will be different because the metric or scale defined by each independent calibration of the items is different. The problem is frequently confronted in…

The test items in this booklet are sample life skill items representative of those found in the California Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Item Bank. The items are arranged in four sections--A, B, C, and D-- from easy to difficult. A four-digit coding system is used to define each item. The first digit represents the content area: consumer…

Analyses of student responses to Introductory Psychology test questions were discussed. The publisher supplied a two thousand item test bank on computer tape. Instructors selected questions for fifteen item tests. The test questions were labeled by the publisher as factual or conceptual. The semester course used a mastery learning format in which…