Methods are proposed for the construction of weakly parallel tests, that is, tests with the same test information function. A mathematical programing model for constructing tests with a prespecified test information function and a heuristic for assigning items to tests such that their information functions are equal play an important role in the…

Effect sizes have been increasingly emphasized in research as more researchers have recognized that: (1) all parametric analyses (t-tests, analyses of variance, etc.) are correlational; (2) effect sizes have played an important role in meta-analytic work; and (3) statistical significance testing is limited in its capacity to inform scientific…

Current issues in the literature on the testing of linguistic and communicative proficiency are reviewed and discussed in relation to reading comprehension testing. Several theoretical issues in language testing are discussed, including testing purposes and test validity. Areas of concern regarding methods of testing reading comprehension are then…

This report summarizes the results of research designed to study the psychometric and technological feasibility of adaptive testing to assess spatial ability. Data was collected from high school students on two types of spatial items: three-dimensional cubes and hidden figure items. The analysis of the three-dimensional cubes focused on the fit of…

To control for interactions in learning research due to subjects' prior knowledge of the instructional material presented, an imaginary curriculum was presented with a computer assisted technique based on Carl Berieter's imaginary science of Xenograde systems. The curriculum consisted of a classification system for ten conceptual classes of…

For many years personalization of achievement testing has been impossible in all but the simplest forms. Recently, item response theory (IRT), or latent trait theory, has emerged as a valuable tool which brings far greater flexibility to the process than had previously been possible. The single parameter Rasch Model, a mathematical model developed…

A study tested the hypothesis that learning disabled (LD), specifically reading disabled, children differ from "normal" children in their ability to acquire automatic perceptual processes. The subjects were 16 third grade and 15 sixth grade students, of whom 7 third grade and 3 sixth grade students were classified as LD. LaBerge's letter…

This report discussed the following questions in regard to testing, measurement and evaluation in the Indiana public schools: (1) Where are we? (2) Is "where we are" different from where we perceive we should be? (3) Do teachers feel competent in testing? (4) How are teachers' skills viewed by their "superiors," the central…

Monte Carlo simulation was used to investigate score bias and information characteristics of Owen's Bayesian adaptive testing strategy, and to examine possible causes of score bias. Factors investigated in three related studies included effects of item discrimination, effects of fixed vs. variable test length, and effects of an accurate prior…

A computerized adaptive testing version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (CAT-ASVAB) is being developed to test ten areas of vocational aptitude. Development of the CAT-ASVAB is based upon the use of item banks, testing and scoring procedures, assessment of test reliability and test validity, a technical manual, and the…

The MTA PLATO-based evaluation system, which has been implemented by a consortium of schools of medical technology, is designed to be general-purpose, modular, data-driven, and interactive, and to accommodate other national and local item banks. The system provides a comprehensive interactive item-banking system in conjunction with online student…

The purposes of this study were to determine if there is a significant difference in postsecondary business student scores and test completion time based on settable test item exposure control interface format, and to determine if there is a significant difference in student scores and test completion time based on settable test item exposure…

A computer managed instructional system for reading, begun five years ago in Belvedere-Parkway Elementary School in Calgary, contains 329 behavioral objectives ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade levels, with testing performed online. After completion of a test, a student receives a printout listing the objectives completed, those that need…

This paper presents a new method for estimating a given latent trait variable by the least-squares approach. The beta weights are obtained recursively with the help of Fourier series and expressed as functions of item parameters of response curves. The values of the latent trait variable estimated by this method and by maximum likelihood method…

Although most interactive systems seem to facilitate user work, the system described--an interactive examination system--increased the time required by as much as 100 percent. Students taking an exam interactively and on paper were videotaped. Analysis showed the extra time went to system overhead, think time, and trouble understanding what to do.…