The World Wide Web has frequently been incorporated into second/foreign language (L2 hereafter) course instruction during the past decade. However, many teaching methods essentially employed it as a reactive mode of L2 instruction. Many other methods have been designed to facilitate constructive L2 production. They are, however, limited in their…

Model-based equating was compared to empirical equating of an Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test form. The model-based equating was done using item pretest data to derive item response theory (IRT) item parameter estimates for those items that were retained in the final version of the test. The analysis of an ASVAB test form…

Introduction of new teaching strategies often expands the expectations for student learning, creating a parallel need to redefine how teachers collect the evidence that assures both them and their students that these expectations are in fact being met. The default assessment strategy of the typical large, introductory, college-level science…

Online high schools are growing significantly in number, popularity, and function. However, little empirical data has been published about the effectiveness of these institutions. This research examined the frequency of group work and extended essay writing among online Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) students, and how these tasks may have…

In this technical report, the authors describe the development and piloting of reading comprehension measures as part of a comprehensive progress monitoring literacy assessment system developed in 2006 for use with students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. They begin with a brief overview of the two conceptual frameworks underlying the…

Whether the presence of bidimensionality has any effect on the adaptive recalibration of test items was studied through live-data simulation of computer adaptive testing (CAT) forms. The source data were examinee responses to the 298 scored multiple choice items of a licensure examination in a health care profession. Three 75-item part-forms,…

The primary goal of this project was to examine the predictability of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reading item difficulty (equated delta) for main idea items, and the predictability of main idea, inference, and explicit statement item types. A secondary purpose was to contrast the responses of high verbal and low verbal ability examinees.…

Contrasts between constructed response items and stem-equivalent multiple-choice counterparts typically have involved averaging item characteristics, and this aggregation has masked differences in statistical properties at the item level. Moreover, even aggregated format differences have not been explained in terms of differential cognitive…

In order to evaluate the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) vocabulary item format and to determine the effectiveness of alternative vocabulary test items, this study investigated the functioning of eight different multiple-choice formats that differed with regard to: (1) length and inference-generating quality of the stem; (2) the…

This study examined the relationship of a machine-scorable, constrained free-response computer science item that required the student to debug a faulty program to two other types of items: multiple-choice and free-response requiring production of a computer program. The free-response items were from the College Board's Advanced Placement Computer…

Current conceptions of literacy and what being literate means are discussed, and the strengths and weaknesses of the standardized multiple-choice test as a tool for assessing literacy proficiency and a way to report learning progress are explored. The possible advantages of alternative assessment strategies are reviewed, and an assessment model is…

To help increase the understanding of sources of difficulty in test items, a study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of various aspects of prose complexity on the difficulty of achievement test items. The items of interest were those that presented a verbal stimulus followed by a question about the stimulus and a standard set of…

This research summarizes differential item functioning (DIF) results for student produced response (SPR) items, a nonmultiple-choice mathematical item type in the Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I). DIF data from 4 field trial pretest administrations (620 SPR items) and 10 final forms (100 SPR items with samples ranging from about 58,000 to over…

A study investigated the effect of a prereading strategy on the reading comprehension of foreign language students. Subjects were 62 French students in 5 classes at 3 suburban high schools. A rotation design was used within each class. A reading in the target language was assigned twice a week for two weeks. The treatment sample went through a…

A total of 149 students enrolled in an undergraduate nursing research methods course participated in a study comparing three strategies for using formative evaluation (test feedback throughout a course) to predict students at risk of failure at summative evaluation (the final examination). Students took 12 weekly multiple-choice quizzes, which…