To meet the individual needs of Japanese students in an electrical engineering course, a computer based system was adopted that graded student quizzes using an added weight method, evaluated student performance on each quiz, charted student progress, monitored student attitudes, analyzed the relationship between student attitude and performance,…

The common item equating method (weighted and unweighted) and the one-step missing data calibration method used with Rasch measurement models were compared using data from six equivalent forms of a perceptual ability test administered as part of the Dental Admission Test. Results suggest little difference among the equating methods. (SLD)

Ways to improve data comparability among national college faculty surveys are discussed. The surveys and some of their attributes are identified. Faculty sizes are estimated and weights for faculty in selected disciplines and institutions calculated. Weights were designed specifically for surveys conducted in 1969, 1975, 1980, and 1988.…

Introducing students to measurement concepts poses unique instructional challenges; yet, the importance of measurement issues for all data collection scenarios (e.g., the classroom, individual clients, sporting events) requires that students understand the value of basic measurement procedures. Illustrating the basic measurement topics of…

OBJECTIVE: The authors explored psychiatry clerkship usage of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Subject Test. METHODS: U.S. and Canadian psychiatry clerkship directors (N=150) were sent an 18-item questionnaire surveying evaluation and remediation practices. RESULTS: Of 111 questionnaires (74%) returned, 76 (69%) reported using the…

A modified regression procedure for finding a common metric for item response theory (IRT) parameter estimates and for total test scores is proposed and compared to the chi-square method of equating. The chi-square method was chosen after literature review for the currently used scaling procedures. The modification used with the regression…

The correlation was examined between the Officer Selection Battery (OSB) and the five areas of evaluation comprising the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Basic Camp Student Evaluation Report: physical fitness, graded military skills, job performance, peer rating, and academic potential and grades. The moderating effect of the…

This paper describes further research on a learning procedure for layered networks of deterministic, neuron-like units, described by Rumelhart et al. The units, the way they are connected, the learning procedure, and the extension to iterative networks are presented. In one experiment, a network learns a set of filters, enabling it to discriminate…

On the basis of past research efforts to improve multiple-choice test information through differential weighting of responses to wrong answers (distractors), two statistical indices are developed. Each describes the properties of response distributions across the options of an item. Jaspen's polyserial generalization of the biserial correlation…

Methods of the 1976-77 Expanded Eligibility Survey, which was conducted for the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California System, are described. The survey was undertaken as a supplement to the 1976 High School Eligibility Study. A subsample of the 1976 Eligibility Study graduates was mailed questionnaires to determine…

PRIME is a library of 44 batch-oriented computer routines: 20 major package programs, which use 12 statistical utility routines, and 12 other utility routines for input/output and data manipulation. This manual contains a general description of data preparation and coding, standard control cards, input deck arrangement, standard options, and…

A procedure for scoring multiple-choice tests by assigning different weights to every option of a test item is investigated. The weighting method used was based on that proposed by Davis, which involves taking the upper and lower 27% of a sample, according to some criterion measure, and using the percentages of these groups marking an item option…

The first High School and Beyond follow-up survey, conducted in 1982, included sub-samples of 29,737 sophomore cohort and 11,995 senior cohort representatives from the base year survey samples. During the fall of 1982, nearly 18,500 of the sophomore cohort members selected for the first follow-up survey were subsampled for the High School and…

Six procedures for combining sets of item response theory (IRT) item parameter estimates from different samples were evaluated using real and simulated response data. Results support use of covariance matrix-weighted averaging and a procedure using sample-size-weighted averaging of estimated item characteristic curves at the center of the ability…

This study examined the construct validity of the "e-rater"® automated essay scoring engine as an alternative to human scoring in the context of TOEFL® essay writing. Analyses were based on a sample of students who repeated the TOEFL within a short time period. Two "e-rater" scores were investigated in this study, the first…