An Educational Testing Service (ETS) procedure was evaluated, which is based on item response theory and estimates true scores on tests not taken. The reading, vocabulary, and mathematics tests of high school seniors from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of 1972 and the High School and Beyond (HSB) seniors of 1980 and 1982 were found to share…

Forty adolescent subjects with behavior problems at home or at school were administered the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests. Subjects ranged in age from 12 to 18, and included 25 males and 15 females. The Passage Comprehension Test for each subject was rescored using three different ceiling criteria: (1) five errors in six consecutive responses,…

One means of learning about the processes operating in a multiple choice test is to include some test items, called nonsense items, which have no correct answer. This paper compares two versions of a mathematical model of test performance to interpret test data that includes both genuine and nonsense items. One formula is based on the usual…

The recent psycholinguistic-sociolinguistic trend in foreign language teaching indicates a shift of interest away from quantitative data towards qualitative information of different kinds. Validity and relevance are stressed and so new test formats are demanded, as well as new methods of dealing with student answers. Item analysis techniques used…

The aim of this study was to show that the superiority of corrected-for-guessing scores over number right scores as true score estimates depends on the ability of examinees to recognize situations where they can eliminate one or more alternatives as incorrect and to omit items where they would only be guessing randomly. Previous investigations…

The Munby system for coding classroom interaction is an observation system constructed to study the intellectual consequences of varying kinds of science teaching behaviors. The initial use of the system called for making judgments about small portions of teaching, arbitrarily determined from a transcript of the teaching in question. Recent work…

This paper describes the rationale for the Defining Issues Test (DIT), an objective test of moral judgment which attempts to improve upon three aspects of Kohlberg's research: data collection, categorization of moral judgments (the scoring system), and method of indexing a subject's progress in a developmental sequence. In each case, the way in…

The significant aspects of tests administered to entering freshmen of the University of Wisconsin--Madison are summarized. Information is proved on 11 instruments which appear on the University of Wisconsin--Madison New Freshmen Profile, 1972 form. The test forms, time limits, number of items, scoring formulas, types of scores, and item content…

Compares various item option scoring methods with respect to coefficient alpha and a concurrent validity coefficient. Scoring methods compared were: formula scoring, a priori scoring, empirical scoring with an internal criterion, and two modifications of formula scoring. The empirically determined scoring system is seen as superior. (RC)

The effectiveness of the Coombs elimination procedure was evaluated with 29 college students enrolled in a statistics course. Five multiple-choice tests were employed and scored using the Coombs procedure. Results suggest that the Coombs procedure decreased guessing, and this effect increased over the grading period. (Author/LMO)

Describes a method using age equivalents and standard scores to recreate the full range of variability in the scores of high-functioning individuals. The method allows for a more complete interpretation of performance that can lead to better educational and therapeutic programing. (Author/ABB)