As part of the Content Analysis Project, a panel of six experts in mathematics education examined the congruence between the Maryland grade-8 test and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test. Two panelists were very familiar with the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), two with the NAEP, and the other two…

This book discusses constructing variables and making measures. It begins by outlining the qualities a number must meet before it qualifies as a measure of something. The basis is the measurement philosophy of G. Rasch. The first requirement for making good measures is good raw material. To achieve the possibility of comparisons, the data must…

The purpose of this writing sampler is to familiarize Delaware teachers and students with the major writing portion of the Delaware Student Testing Program. Included for each grade level (3, 5, 8, and 10) are the original prompt and an example of exemplary student work. Although the intent was to include student work for each of the rubric score…

In response to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, school districts are working to develop assessment systems to monitor student progress. In the area of reading, three measures can provide useful information about students' developing proficiency: a test of oral reading fluency (ORF), a vocabulary test, and a reading comprehension test…

In two studies, selections of evaluation form items were negatively worded and presented before or after overall student ratings. Ratings of courses and instructors were not significantly affected by wording. Differences in the global assessment of the courses are discussed. (Author/CM)

Use of problem-solving skills in various classroom situations are discussed. Demonstrates that the thinking level of assigned problems, type of examination questions, example-type problems in class, time factor in examinations, grading, help outside of classroom, and behavioral objectives are all areas where problem-solving skills of students can…

Discusses problems in using multiple-choice items on criterion-referenced tests, offering alternative methods to determine if objectives have been met. These include batteries of true-false items, structural communication grids, concept linkages, and a scoring system which takes partial knowledge into consideration. (JN)

Selective Testing provides students with equivalent test options that control the sequence and quantification of individual items. Essay and objective test construction is modified to allow the student to combine units and create an individualized test. An example of a test on the American Revolution is presented. (FG)

A 100-item five-choice multiple choice (MC) biology final exam was converted to multiple choice true-false (MTF) form to yield two content-parallel test forms comprised of the two item types. Students found the MTF items easier and preferred MTF over MC; the MTF subtests were more reliable. (Author/GK)

Describes a study which explored some difficulties related to technical and nontechnical vocabulary and the structure of the examination questions in electrochemistry. Includes results from a sample of 1,500 students in the fourth forms. (DS)

The advantages of using psychometric thoery to design short forms of intelligence tests are demonstrated by comparing such usage to a systematic random procedure that has previously been used. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised (WISC-R) Short Form is presented as an example. (JKS)

In a replication of an earlier study, a questionnaire with items lacking content and merely containing answer possibilities was administered to a sample of Dutch freshmen psychology students. Subjects showed a preference for positive options over negative options. (Author/JKS)

Individuals, randomly selected from important but diverse community and school groups, rated the tasks tested and the items used in the Mathematical Tests of the Australian Studies in School Performance. For tasks at the basic numeracy level, disagreement was generally insignificant. (Author/SJL)

A subtest of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test dealing with interpretation of diagrams, tables, and maps (DTM) was studied to see whether the position or other characteristics of test items affected the noted gender differences in results. Results with 116,017 students show an effect of position on gender differences. (SLD)