This study examined the Flynn Effect (FE; i.e., the rise in IQ scores over time) in Estonia from Scale B of the National Intelligence Test using both classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT) methods. Secondary data from two cohorts (1934, n = 890 and 2006, n = 913) of students were analyzed, using both classical test theory (CTT)…

Teacher and principal surveys are among the most common data collection techniques employed in education research. Yet there is remarkably little research on survey methods in education, or about the most cost-effective way to raise response rates among teachers and principals. In an effort to explore various methods for increasing survey response…

This article reports on a study conducted with 42 participants from a Chilean university, which aimed to determine the effect of mode of response on test performance and test-taker perception of test features by comparing a semidirect online version and a direct face-to-face version of a speaking test. Candidate performances on both test versions…

Will subscores provide additional information than what is provided by the total score? Is there a method that can estimate more trustworthy subscores than observed subscores? To answer the first question, this study evaluated whether the true subscore was more accurately predicted by the observed subscore or total score. To answer the second…

This paper describes an exploration into a reform of the A-level qualification in England in 2008; namely, the introduction of the "stretch and challenge" policy. This policy was initiated by the exams regulator and determined that exam papers should be redesigned to encourage the application of higher order thinking skills, both in the…

This is the second of five papers detailing our national study of general education astronomy students' conceptual and reasoning difficulties with cosmology. This article begins our quantitative investigation of the data. We describe how we scored students' responses to four conceptual cosmology surveys, and we present evidence for the inter-rater…

This study compares the psychometric utility of Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) for scale construction with data from higher education student surveys. Using 2008 Your First College Year (YFCY) survey data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, two scales…

In much of the world, the issue of accountability and measurement of educational outcomes is highly controversial. Exit testing is part of the movement to ascertain what students have learned and hold institutions and teachers to account. However, compared to the large number of teacher washback studies, learner washback research is lacking…

This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

Any meaningful initiative to improve the teaching and learning in introductory control systems courses needs a clear test of student conceptual understanding to determine the effectiveness of proposed methods and activities. The authors propose a control systems concept inventory. Development of the inventory was collaborative and iterative. The…

Three test construction strategies are described and illustrated in the development of the Verb Interest Test (VIT), an inventory that assesses vocational interests using verbs. Verbs might be a promising alternative to the descriptions of occupational activities used in most vocational interest inventories because they are context-independent,…

The validity of cognitive ability tests is often interpreted solely as a function of the cognitive abilities that these tests are supposed to measure, but other factors may be at play. The effects of test anxiety on the criterion related validity (CRV) of tests was the topic of a recent study by Reeve, Heggestad, and Lievens (2009) (Reeve, C. L.,…

It is a bitter reality that the curricula and traditional pedagogy prevailing in public schools of Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular do not incorporate the algebraic concepts properly. Both the content and the presentation therein cannot be considered up to the mark, thereby making "Algebra" a tough and dry subject. This…

Standardizing aspects of assessments has long been recognized as a tactic to help make evaluations of examinees fair. It reduces variation in irrelevant aspects of testing procedures that could advantage some examinees and disadvantage others. However, recent attention to making assessment accessible to a more diverse population of students…

In this technical report, we describe the results of a study of mathematics items written to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in grades 6-8. In each grade, CCSS items were organized into forms, and the reliability of these forms was evaluated along with an experimental form including items aligned with the National Council of…