Among the measurement techniques receiving greater attention is the context-dependent item set or testlet. The context-dependent item set consists of a scenario and related test questions. This item format is generally believed to be able to tap higher level thinking. Unfortunately, this item form leads to inter-item dependence within item sets…

Modern applications of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) are typically grounded in item response theory (IRT; Lord, 1980). While the IRT foundations of adaptive testing provide a number of approaches to adaptive test scoring that may seem natural and efficient to psychometricians, these approaches may be more demanding for test takers, test…

Fit analysis is widely performed in item response theory (IRT) based test development to assess the fit of individual items to the IRT model being used. The paper explores a step fit analysis procedure that is an extension of IRT-based item fit diagnostics applied to the response categories present in popular performance-based tasks. The step fit…

Results of several analyses of the dimensional structure of four forms of the Preliminary American College Test Plus (P-ACT+) are presented. Dimensionality was assessed using factor analysis, multidimensional item response theory (IRT), and the Stout Test for Essential Unidimensionality (STEU). Analyses were conducted with data from the spring…

As Martha Nussbaum argues, narratives, and especially novels, provide a way of reflecting on what it means to live well morally, and the emotional responses that stories evoke are crucial to the ability to formulate complex moral judgments. An important aspect of the moral nature of literature is the reader's "empathetic imagination," or…

This study examines the relationship between parent-child attachment and parental attachment styles. It is hypothesized that: (1) parental attachment styles are transmitted to the infant through parent-child and parent-parent interaction; and (2) parental attachment styles are reflected in parent-child attachment. Some research supports the idea…

Finding ways to build on the language abilities students of diverse cultures bring to school, this book recounts an experiment in helping urban African American high school students to interpret literature by drawing on their own rich oral tradition of "signifying." The book defines signifying as a contest in which the most imaginative…

The teacher, as an authority figure in the computer classroom, can choose from a number of types of interactions with students to counteract homophobic comments as well as racial and gender prejudice. A model of four responses to student communication in the InterChange computer framework sets a continuum of teacher control: (1) passive…

Jill Paton Walsh's "The Green Book," the story of a group of humans and their life on a new planet, captures the imagination of learners and provides a compelling context for learning. Several groups of learners including fifth graders and adult teacher practitioners responded to the book in unique and interesting ways. As the setting,…

A study explored what an outside-the-classroom, authentic literature discussion involved. Three book club discussions (involving a leaderless group consisting of members of varying professions meeting monthly to discuss fiction and nonfiction reading selections) were audiotaped, transcribed and coded. Results indicated that: (1) when allowed to…

The problem of response set is important for questionnaire designers and interpreters, but the public is affected as well if policy is determined on the basis of unsupported conclusions. This study focused on one of the most researched response sets, extreme responding (ER), or extreme checking styles, and its relationship to one dimension of…

The summary information in this report provides teachers, school administrators, students, and the general public in Alberta, Canada with an overview of results from the June 1998 administration of the English 30 Diploma Examination. The information in the report is most helpful when used in conjunction with the detailed school and jurisdiction…

Designed to supplement the actual reading of children's books, this book provides an introduction to children's literature. It focuses on general trends and patterns rather than plot summaries. The two-part organization of the third edition explores first the foundations and contexts, then the various genres of children's literature. Discussion…

An item-selection algorithm to neutralize the differential effects of time limits on scores on computerized adaptive tests is proposed. The method is based on a statistical model for the response-time distributions of the examinees on items in the pool that is updated each time a new item has been administered. Predictions from the model are used…

This report provides findings from a study that aimed to identity: (1) the impact of charter schools on school districts; (2) the ways school districts had responded; and (3) whether districts had experienced systemic change as a result of charter laws and the opening of charter schools. The study was conducted in 1997, six years into the nation's…