Score equating requires that the forms to be equated are functionally parallel. That is, the two test forms should rank order examinees in a similar fashion. In language proficiency testing situations, this assumption is often put into doubt because of the numerous tests that have been proposed as measures of language proficiency and the…

The purpose of this study was to determine how cognitive style instructions to respondents of a survey instrument affected the resulting psychometric properties of the scale. It was hypothesized that a group which is instructed to carefully respond will have a mean score further from the neutral point, a larger standard deviation, and a higher…

The career of Stuart Appleton Courtis in the growth of testing and educational measurement parallels the development of progressive education in the first half of the twentieth century. In 1909 he developed the standardized Courtis Arithmetic Test, Series A, the first objective test used in any city public schools. Continuing his work in testing,…

Assuming that the density p of the true ability theta in the binomial test score model is continuous in the closed interval (0, 1), a Bernstein polynomial can be used to uniformly approximate p. Then via quadratic programming techniques, least-square estimates may be obtained for the coefficients defining the polynomial. The approximation, in turn…

The reliabilities of various observational measures were determined, and the influence of both the number and the length of the observation periods on reliability was examined, both separately and jointly. A single simplifying assumption leads to a variant of the Spearman-Brown formula, which may have wider application. (Author/CTM)

Issues concerning equating test scores are discussed in an introduction, four papers, and two commentaries. Equating methods research, sampling errors, linear equating, population differences, sources of equating errors, and a circular equating paradigm are considered. (SLD)

Traces student comprehension in beginning economics course examinations in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. Demonstrates that males performed better on multiple-choice tests, females performed better on essay examinations, and that female learning rates were lower than male learning rates. Reviews the influence of precollege courses. Includes…

Claims that written tests are superior to objective, scan-tron tests in literature, composition, and vocabulary because they require students to think on paper. Describes the following types of in-class written tests and examines the advantages of each: literary essay, topical composition, imitation, brief answer, timed rewrites, and vocabulary…

In this paper, scores from the Department of Education's table, "State Education Statistics," are examined to see if they can be used for state-by-state comparisons to aid in the evaluation of educational policies that vary across states. (Author/LMO)

Reviews selected research, widely-used commercial tests, and recent literature on critical thinking. States that evaluation of critical thinking processes should encompass more than simple tests. Concludes with six guidelines for evaluating critical thinking. (JDH)

The well-known problem of cumulating error probabilities is reconsidered from a general epistemological perspective, namely, the concepts of severity and of fairness of tests. It is shown that not only Type 1 but also Type 2 errors can cumulate. A new adjustment strategy is proposed and applied. (Author/JAZ)

Provides a brief, nontechnical overview of latent trait models and argues for the preferability of these models (particularly the Rasch logistic model) over classical test models. Offers an example application of the Rasch model and discusses implications for the use of latent trait models for communication educators. (AEW)

Conjunctive item response models are introduced such that: (1) sufficient statistics for latent traits are not necessarily additive in item scores; (2) items are not necessarily locally independent; and (3) existing compensatory (additive) item response models including the binomial, Rasch, logistic, and general locally independent model are…

Explored utility of disguise in structured self-report assessment of psychopathology, using university students. Data indicated that under normal test-taking circumstances, use of disguised test items was not advantageous. This relationship was moderated by several dimensional parameters. Results supported rational strategy of test construction,…

Discusses validation studies of three British English language proficiency tests--the English Proficiency Test Battery, the English Language Battery, and the English Language Testing Service. Concludes that valid language tests depend on test constructors' knowledge of language and on their judgment as to the parameters of language proficiency.…