Describes fourth graders' performance on 30 questions from the National Assessment of Educational Progress 1998 Civics Assessment, showing questions answered correctly by at least 75%, more than 50%, more than 25%, and fewer than 25%. Includes samples of students' written responses. (Author/SLD)

Describes 12th graders' performance on 38 questions from the National Assessment of Educational Progress 1998 Civics Assessment, showing percentages of students who answered the questions correctly. Includes samples of students' written responses. (SLD)

A test item exhibits differential item functioning (DIF) if students with the same ability find it differentially difficult. When the item is administered in French and English, differences in language difficulty and meaning are the most likely explanations. However, curriculum differences may also contribute to DIF. The responses of Ontario…

Personality tests often consist of a set of dichotomous or Likert items. These response formats are known to be susceptible to an agreeing-response bias called acquiescence. The common assumption in balanced scales is that the sum of appropriately reversed responses should be reasonably free of acquiescence. However, inter-item correlation (or…

The author discusses five key issues related to the adequacy of tests of children's language. Within each key issue, she asks test adequacy questions, accompanied by criteria for determining adequacy. The author also reviews the information found in the manuals for four norm-referenced, standardized tests of language development to illustrate…

Identifying the sources of differential item functioning (DIF) in international assessments is very challenging, because such sources are often nebulous and intertwined. Even though researchers frequently focus on test translation and content area, few actually go beyond these factors to investigate other cultural sources of DIF. This article…

This article proposes procedures for assessing acquiescence in a balanced set of binary personality items. These procedures are based on the bidimensional item-factor analysis model, which is an alternative parameterization of the bidimensional 2-parameter normal-ogive item response theory model. First the rationale and general approach are…

Computer-based testing by credentialing agencies has become common; however, selecting a test design is difficult because several good ones are available - parallel forms, computer adaptive (CAT), and multistage (MST). In this study, three computer-based test designs under some common examination conditions were investigated. Item bank size and…

Most research on differential item functioning (DIF) focuses on methods for detection rather than on understanding why DIF might occur. This study was designed to investigate whether two alternative approaches to parsing items based on structural characteristics related to particular cognitive strategies could be used to help explain gender DIF.…

The valid provision of subscores from an item response theory-based test implies a multidimensional test structure. Assuming, in the construction of a new test, that the test features required for a valid and reliable total test score have been specified already, this article describes the resulting subscore performance and the resulting…

Inquires into assessment items classified as "extended pieces of work" in applicable mathematics in Western Australia. Identifies opportunities for graphics calculator use in extended pieces implemented in schools. Concludes that availability of the technology has widened the scope of approaches used in extended pieces of work in…

Domain scores have been proposed as a user-friendly way of providing instructional feedback about examinees' skills. Domain performance typically cannot be measured directly; instead, scores must be estimated using available information. Simulation studies suggest that IRT-based methods yield accurate group domain score estimates. Because…

In this study, the precision of subscale score estimates was evaluated when out-of-scale information was incorporated. Procedures that incorporated out-of-scale information and only information within a subscale were compared through a series of simulations. It was revealed that more information (i.e., more precision) was always provided for…

Item-exposure control in computerized adaptive testing is implemented by imposing item-ineligibility constraints on the assembly process of the shadow tests. The method resembles Sympson and Hetter's (1985) method of item-exposure control in that the decisions to impose the constraints are probabilistic. The method does not, however, require…

The relationship between the hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) and item response theory (IRT) models has been demonstrated for dichotomous items. The current study demonstrated the use of the HGLM for polytomous items (termed PHGLM) for identification of differential item functioning (DIF). First, the algebraic equivalence between…