The purpose of this study was to equate two standardized English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency tests, the New York State Placement Test (NYSPT) and the Combined English Language Skills Assessment (CELSA), with the Mainstream English Language Training (MELT) project Student Performance Levels (SPLs) in order to facilitate the reporting of…

Statistical procedures for detecting differential item functioning (DIF) are often used as an initial step to screen items for construct irrelevant variance. This research applies a DIF dissection method and a two-way classification scheme to SAT Reasoning Test™ verbal section data and explores the effects of deleting sizable DIF items on reported…

This paper demonstrates how the problem of calibrating measures can be formulated in terms of confirmatory factor analysis. The relationships between traditional approaches and a confirmatory factor approach are specified. (Author/CTM)

Some of the measurement issues encountered in the equating of performance assessments designed for use in teacher certification decisions are described. Analytic strategies based on examinee data that involve modification of existing procedures and judgmental strategies involving the judgments of experts to determine score equivalence are also…

Two observed-score methods that assume equally reliable congeneric tests were compared for the external anchor test equating model. Each derivation was compared to existing test equating methods based on different assumptions. Using samples of Australian secondary school students (N=about 6,000), the methods were compared empirically with existing…

Simplified formulas are proposed for computing the standard errors of equipercentile equating for continuous and discrete test scores. These formulas are easily extended to more complicated equating designs. Results from a study of 719 subjects taking an English test indicated that the formulas work reasonably well for moderate-size samples. (SLD)

Equating a new standard test to an old reference test is considered when samples for equating are not randomly selected from the target population of test takers, identifying two problems from equating from biased samples. An empirical example with data from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery illustrates the approach. (SLD)

This study examined population invariance of equating functions over subgroups defined by ethnicity on a teacher certification test. Investigating subgroup equating invariance was important because the total group who took this test consists of two subgroups (i.e., Hispanic and non-Hispanic) and the Hispanic group is a distinctively more able…

This study evaluated a "substantively driven" method for scoring NAEP writing assessments automatically. The study used variations of an existing commercial program, e-rater[R], to compare the performance of three approaches to automated essay scoring: a "brute-empirical" approach in which variables are selected and weighted solely according to…

The LOGTRUE program can be used to obtain a scale of equated raw scores for two tests with parameter estimates on a common item response theory scale. The program derives its name from the method of logistic true score equating described by Lord (1980). The method can be applied to two tests with overlapping items administered to different groups…

This study considers the use of repeaters when test equating. The subjects consist of five groups of applicants to a professional certification program. Each group comprises first time examinees and repeaters. The procedures include a common item linear equating with nonrandom groups, use of equating chains, and the use of total examinee group…

This paper described one part of an item response theory (IRT) feasibility study performed for the Aptitude Test portion of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). The dimensionality of the GRE verbal and analytical sections is discussed. The results of six different types of equating of the verbal section and four different types of equating of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the homogeneity in difficulty of item domains and the effectiveness of Rasch pre-equating procedures for adjusting test scores for differences in the difficulty of tests constructed by sampling from item domains. The data used were taken from a field test and calibration of 810 tenth-grade items in…

Score equating requires that the forms to be equated are functionally parallel. That is, the two test forms should rank order examinees in a similar fashion. In language proficiency testing situations, this assumption is often put into doubt because of the numerous tests that have been proposed as measures of language proficiency and the…

One of a series of reports on the International Project for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (in Mathmatics).