A series of resampling studies was conducted to compare the accuracy of equating in a common item design using four different methods: chained equipercentile equating of smoothed distributions, chained linear equating, chained mean equating, and the circle-arc method. Four operational test forms, each containing more than 100 items, were used for…

This study explores the use of a different type of anchor, a "midi anchor", that has a smaller spread of item difficulties than the tests to be equated, and then contrasts its use with the use of a "mini anchor". The impact of different anchors on observed score equating were evaluated and compared with respect to systematic…

Factor analysis models with ordinal indicators are often estimated using a 3-stage procedure where the last stage involves obtaining parameter estimates by least squares from the sample polychoric correlations. A simulation study involving 324 conditions (1,000 replications per condition) was performed to compare the performance of diagonally…

In social policy evaluations, the multiple testing problem occurs due to the many hypothesis tests that are typically conducted across multiple outcomes and subgroups, which can lead to spurious impact findings. This article discusses a framework for addressing this problem that balances Types I and II errors. The framework involves specifying…

This article reviews three topics from test theory that continue to raise discussion and controversy and capture test theorists' and constructors' interest. The first topic concerns the discussion of the methodology of investigating and establishing construct validity; the second topic concerns reliability and its misuse, alternative definitions…

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the dramatic consequences the application of cut-off points can have in the practice of identifying gifted individuals. The paradoxical attenuation effect describes the frequent situation in which measurements of the gifts and talents individuals possess are lower than their true values. However, in…

The work reported in this paper reflects a collaborative effort of many individuals representing multiple organizations. It began during a session at the October 2008 meeting of TILSA when a representative of a member state asked the group if any of their programs had experienced unexpected fluctuations in the annual state assessment scores, and…

Introduction: The aim of our research was to investigate the modality effect in more detail by measuring it in a direct way. Two studies were conducted using the same subject and material. Method: Computer-based learning material was presented on several screens, each containing a short text and a picture. Modality was varied by presenting written…

Reading fluency is a critical yet commonly neglected component of early reading instruction. For the large percentage of English language learners (ELLs) who are struggling with or at risk for reading difficulties, there is insufficient research available to help educators implement time-efficient interventions with these students. Using an…

The current study considers methodological challenges in developmental research with linguistically diverse samples of young adolescents. By empirically examining the cross-language measurement equivalence of a measure assessing three components of ethnic identity development (i.e., exploration, resolution, and affirmation) among Mexican American…

Reports an error in "Confidence intervals for gamma-family measures of ordinal association" by Carol M. Woods (Psychological Methods, 2007[Jun], Vol 12[2], 185-204). The note corrects simulation results presented in the article concerning the performance of confidence intervals (CIs) for Spearman's r-sub(s). An error in the author's C++ code…

In multilevel modeling (MLM), group-level (L2) characteristics are often measured by aggregating individual-level (L1) characteristics within each group so as to assess contextual effects (e.g., group-average effects of socioeconomic status, achievement, climate). Most previous applications have used a multilevel manifest covariate (MMC) approach,…

Developed for users of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this user guide consolidates information about the LSAY 2009 cohort into one document. The guide aims to address all aspects of the LSAY data including: how to access the data; data restrictions; variable naming conventions; the structure of the data; documentation;…

The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) is a research program that tracks young people as they move from school into further study, work and other destinations. This "User guide" has been developed for users of the LSAY data. The guide endeavours to consolidate existing technical documentation and other relevant information…

Several research groups have previously constructed short forms of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) for different languages. We consider the specific aim of constructing such a short form to be used for language screening in a specific age group. We present a novel strategy for the construction, which is applicable…