When good model-data fit is observed, the Many-Facet Rasch (MFR) model acts as a linking and equating model that can be used to estimate student achievement, item difficulties, and rater severity on the same linear continuum. Given sufficient connectivity among the facets, the MFR model provides estimates of student achievement that are equated to…

This manual contains technical information about the ACT® college readiness assessment. The principal purpose of this manual is to document the technical characteristics of the ACT in light of its intended purposes. ACT regularly conducts research as part of the ongoing formative evaluation of its programs. The research is intended to ensure that…

Local equating (LE) is based on Lord's criterion of equity. It defines a family of true transformations that aim at the ideal of equitable equating. van der Linden (this issue) offers a detailed discussion of common issues in observed-score equating relative to this local approach. By assuming an underlying item response theory model, one of…

We make a distinction between two types of test changes: inevitable deviations from specifications versus planned modifications of specifications. We describe how score equity assessment (SEA) can be used as a tool to assess a critical aspect of construct continuity, the equivalence of scores, whenever planned changes are introduced to testing…

The development of alternate assessments for students with disabilities plays a pivotal role in state and national accountability systems. An important assumption in the use of alternate assessments in these accountability systems is that scores are comparable on different test forms across diverse groups of students over time. The use of test…

Preservation of equity properties was examined using four equating methods--IRT True Score, IRT Observed Score, Frequency Estimation, and Chained Equipercentile--in a mixed-format test under a common-item nonequivalent groups (CINEG) design. Equating of mixed-format tests under a CINEG design can be influenced by factors such as attributes of the…

This article presents a method for evaluating equating results. Within the kernel equating framework, the percent relative error (PRE) for chained equipercentile equating was computed under the nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. The method was applied to two data sets to obtain the PRE, which can be used to measure equating…

This study investigated the impact of repeat takers of a licensure test on the equating functions in the context of a nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. Examinees who had taken a new, to-be-equated form of the test were divided into three subgroups according to their previous testing experience: (a) repeaters who previously took…

The new national educational policy was implemented at secondary schools in 2002 in Japan. The revised Course of Study for foreign language education corresponding to the national educational policy decreased the number of English lessons per week from four to three at the junior high school level, which resulted in a 25% decrease in English…

In this study, I investigated 2 procedures intended to create test-taker groups of equal ability by poststratifying on a composite variable created from demographic information. In one procedure, the stratifying variable was the composite variable that best predicted the test score. In the other procedure, the stratifying variable was the…

Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on different tests measuring similar but distinct constructs. These tables, typically derived from statistical linking procedures, provide a direct link between scores on different tests and serve various purposes. Aside from describing how a score on one test relates to performance on…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are playing an increasingly important role in higher education around the world, but despite their popularity, the measurement of student learning in these courses is hampered by cheating and other problems that lead to unfair evaluation of student learning. In this paper, we describe a framework for maintaining…

The study examined two approaches for equating subscores. They are (1) equating subscores using internal common items as the anchor to conduct the equating, and (2) equating subscores using equated and scaled total scores as the anchor to conduct the equating. Since equated total scores are comparable across the new and old forms, they can be used…

Anchor tests play a key role in test score equating. We attempt to find, through theoretical derivations, an anchor test with optimal item characteristics. The correlation between the scores on a total test and on an anchor test is maximized with respect to the item parameters for data satisfying several item response theory models. Results…

In this article, linear item response theory (IRT) observed-score equating is compared under a generalized kernel equating framework with Levine observed-score equating for nonequivalent groups with anchor test design. Interestingly, these two equating methods are closely related despite being based on different methodologies. Specifically, when…