Exams which are periodically updated and revised also require a revision of the cut score to ensure that examinees who take the original form of the test, and those taking the revised form, are scored on an equivalent basis. This paper discusses available standard setting procedures as applied to establishing minimum passing scores for licensing…

Numerous techniques are available for determining cutoff scores for distinguishing between proficient and non-proficient examinees. One of the more commonly cited techniques for standard setting is the Nedelsky Method. In response to criticism of this method, Gross (1985) presented a revised Nedelsky technique. However, no research beyond that…

A test of the ability of computers in grading adults' letter-writing abilities. (CH)

Traditional test scoring does not allow the examination of differences among subjects obtaining identical raw scores on the same test. A configuration scoring paradigm for identical raw scores, which provides for such comparisons, is developed and illustrated. (Author)

The problem of standard setting on language proficiency tests is often approached by the use of norms derived from the group being tested, a process commonly known as "grading on the curve." One particular problem with this ad hoc method of standard setting is that it will usually result in a fluctuating standard dependent on the particular group…

The effects of applying different methods of determining different sets of subscore weights on the composite score ranking of examinees were investigated. Four sets of subscore weights were applied to each of three examination results. The scores were from Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations in History of Art, Spanish Language, and Chemistry. One…

This report summarizes all Year 11 National Assessment of Educational Progress activities performed under Westinghouse DataScore Systems contracts. The general time frame for DataScore's contract activities runs from March 1979 through October 1980 (with the exception of the Year 10 Art Scoring activities which were projected for February 1981…

One formulation of confidence scoring requires the examinee to indicate as a number his personal probability of the correctness of each alternative in a multiple-choice test. For this formulation a linear transformation of the logarithm of the correct response is maximized if the examinee accurately reports his personal probability. To equate…

SCORIT, a computer program which processes student responses to test items, is described and explained. The method of scoring responses according to an original test design and possible alternate test designs is detailed. The printing and punching of reports in a form suitable for correlational analysis are covered. A program description is…

This digest describes the three most prominent approaches to essay scoring by computer: (1) Project Essay Grade (PEG), introduced by E. Page in 1966; (2) Intelligent Essay Assessor (IEA), introduced for essay grading in 1997 by T. Landauer and P. Foltz; and (3) e-rater, used by the Educational Testing Service and developed by J. Burstein. PEG…

The purpose of this research was to establish, within the constraints of the methods presented, whether the computer is capable of scoring essays in much the same way that human experts rate essays. The investigation attempted to establish what was actually going on within the computer and within the mind of the rater and to describe the degree to…

The Achievement-Levels Setting (ALS) process for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) resulted in numerical cutscores on the NAEP score scale representing the performance standards for three achievement levels: Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. This paper focuses on an important, but less researched, aspect of the standard setting…

The dominant profile judgment method, designed for use with profiles of polytomous scores on exercises in a performance-based assessment, is presented as a standard-setting method. The approach guides standard-setting panelists in articulating their standard-setting policies and allows for complex policy statements. (SLD)

This article presents pragmatic information on teaching early childhood teacher candidates how to assess children's inquiry process skills. The authors list three important steps in choosing inquiry skills. They generated behavioral indicators for each inquiry skill, and designed an assessment rubric using number grading or a…