The frequently neglected and often misunderstood relationship between classical test theory and item response theory is discussed for the unidimensional case with binary measures and no guessing. It is pointed out that popular item response models can be directly obtained from classical test theory-based models by accounting for the discrete…

This study evaluates the impact of common item characteristics on the outcome of equating in credentialing examinations when traditionally recommended representation is not possible. This research used real data sets from several credentialing exams to test the impact of content representation, item statistics, and number of common items on…

Education systems increasingly emphasize the importance of scientific reasoning skills such as "generating hypotheses" and "evaluating evidence." Despite this importance, we do not know which tests of scientific reasoning exist, which skills they emphasize, how they conceptualize scientific reasoning, and how well they are…

This reflection paper challenges current test scoring practices on the grounds that most wrong-answer selections are thoughtful not random, presenting research supporting this proposition. An alternative test scoring system is presented, described and its outcomes discussed. This new scoring system increases the number of variables considered,…

The study aims to examine whether differential item function is displayed in three different test forms that have item orders of random and sequential versions (easy-to-hard and hard-to-easy), based on Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods and bearing item difficulty levels in mind. In the correlational research, the…

This study investigates error sources and the effects of each error source to determine optimal weights of the composite score of teacher recommendation letters and self-introduction letters using multivariate generalizability theory. Data were collected from the science education institute for the gifted attached to the university located within…

Item analysis has essential roles in the learning assessment. The item analysis program is designed to measure student achievement and instructional effectiveness. This study was aimed to develop item-analysis program and verify its feasibility. This study uses a Research and Development (R & D) model. The procedure includes designing and…

The psychometrically sound development of assessment instruments requires pilot testing of candidate items as a first step in gauging their quality, typically a time-consuming and costly effort. Crowdsourcing offers the opportunity for gathering data much more quickly and inexpensively than from most targeted populations. In a simulation of a…

This study evaluates the psychometric properties of three different forms of the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT; Daly & Miller, 1975) through Rasch analysis. For this purpose, the fit statistics and correlation coefficients, and the reliability, separation ratio, and chi-square values for the facets of item and person calculated for the…

The Early Fractions Test is a paper-pencil test designed to measure mathematics achievement of third- and fourth-grade students in the domain of fractions. The purpose, or intended use, of the Early Fractions Test is to serve as a student pretest covariate and a test of baseline equivalence in the larger study. In this report, we discuss our…

Although medical curricula now adopt an integrated teaching approach, this is not adequately reflected in assessment of anatomy knowledge and skills. In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of the addition of clinical vignette to item stems on students' performance in anatomy practical examinations. In this study, 129 undergraduate medical…

Scientific models and modeling play an important role in science, and students' understanding of scientific models is essential for their understanding of scientific concepts. The measurement instrument of "Students' Understanding of Models in Science" (SUMS), developed by Treagust, Chittleborough & Mamiala ("International…

This article provides preliminary validity evidence for the shorter Mandarin version of the Vocabulary Size Test (VST) under the content aspect, technical quality, substantive and generalizability aspect of Messick's (1995) construct validity framework. The shorter version with 177 Chinese university students in three proficiency levels indicates…

Student learning in instructional physics labs represents a growing area of research that includes investigations of students' beliefs and expectations about the nature of experimental physics. To directly probe students' epistemologies about experimental physics and support broader lab transformation efforts at the University of Colorado Boulder…

Consumers spend an increasing amount of time and money online finding information, completing tasks, or making purchases. The quality of the website experience has become a key differentiator for organizations--affecting whether they purchase and their likelihood to return and recommend a website to friends. Two instruments were created to more…