This study was designed to answer two key questions about the fixed portions of the fourth, eighth, and tenth grade spring 2003 Idaho Standards Achievement Tests (ISAT) in Reading, Language Usage and Mathematics: (1) To what extent do test items exhibit substantive differences in functioning across student groups formed based on ethnicity and…

The availability of item response times made possible by computerized testing represents an entirely new type of information about test items. This study explores the issue of how to represent response-time information in item banks. Empirical response-time distribution functions can be fit with statistical distribution functions with known…

Year-to-year rater variation may result in constructed response (CR) parameter changes, making CR items inappropriate to use in anchor sets for linking or equating. This study demonstrates how rater severity affected the writing and reading scores. Rater adjustments were made to statewide results using an item response theory (IRT) methodology…

As an integral part of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) the School Administrator Questionnaire has been used to collect information from public and private school administrators regarding their demographic characteristics, academic background, professional training, and…

The extensive computer simulation work done in developing the computer adaptive versions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board General Test and the College Board Admissions Testing Program (ATP) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is described in this report. Both the GRE General and SAT computer adaptive tests (CATs), which are fixed length…

Issues in alternative assessment for accountability purposes are discussed. Most new forms of performance assessment are linked in the literature, but all alternative forms of assessment do not have the same attributes in terms of technical and feasibility criteria. Tradeoffs in the validity of inferences that can be drawn from alternative…

Data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were examined to determine the extent to which the rank ordering of countries based on pupil test performance was consistent across three different item formats: multiple-choice, short-answer, and extended-response. Findings from the analysis are used to make the case that…

This study compared the performance of English language learners and native speakers of English on mathematics word problems from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests and investigated whether modifying the linguistic structures in the test items affected student test performance. The study began with the analysis of…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a project designed to extend the nation's current emphasis on health-related, criterion-referenced fitness testing and programming to children and adolescents with disabilities. It summarizes project activities leading up to the Brockport Physical Fitness Test and related measures. Activities included:…

This document presents the framework and rationale for assessing the science achievement of students throughout the United States in 1996 and 2000. A general overview of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the NAEP Science Framework adopted by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is provided. The process by which…

Three guides provide sample problems like the ones students would solve on the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests. For each question, the pertinent Colorado state standard is identified. The ninth grade guide contains questions in reading, writing and mathematics; the guide to the 10th grade examination also contains questions related to…

Surveyed student attitudes on modes of testing and evaluation. Data from 476 college students revealed that multiple-choice test items and short answer essays were most preferred. Found grade point average related to study habits and preparation for and determinant of student preferences regarding tests. (Author/JAC)

Ninth-graders read a passage for a test to be taken the next day, anticipating a recall test, a multiple-choice test, and a retention test. Half received either a recall or a recognition test regardless of prior instructions. Subjects did better on the recognition tests in all conditions. (Author/RD)

Investigates the misconceptions in physics among South African students. The physics test which was administered to selected high school and college students is included. (HM)

The accuracy of estimation of the subjects' latent ability maintained by tailoring for each testee the order of item presentation and the border of item dichotomization was compared to the information provided by the original graded test items. (RC)