To examine the validity of short forms of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the WISC-R was first administered to 106 hospitalized psychiatric patients, aged 8-16. No subjects had a primary diagnosis of mental retardation or learning disability, and one-third were receiving psychotropic medication. WISC-R IQ scores…

This study investigated the feasibility of using the three-parameter model in Florida's minimum competency testing program. LOGIST 4 was used to analyze 1984 Statewide Student Assessment Tests (SSAT)-II data, exploring possibilities that easiness of the test would cause problems in the estimation of the a and c parameters. These problems and…

Four tests were pre-equated on the basis of item-test regressions computed from a large sample providing pretest data. The tests were two mathematics tests (math computation and elementary algebra) and two verbal tests (sentence sense and reading comprehension) from the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. Regular equipercentile…

Test results from the Florida Educational Assessment of third and fifth grade communications and mathematics skills were used to compare linear and Rasch equating results. The samples consisted of over 5,000 cases for each grade and content area. The tests contained some items common to both the 1976 and 1977 test forms, but no fewer than 20…

An equating study was conducted on the Certifying Examination for Primary Care Physician's Assistants to compare the ability of current examinees with the standardization group and to determine if current test items are more difficult than previous items. Using 46 common items from the multiple choice section, the 1978 exam was equated to the 1976…

This study develops a weighted least squares method for transforming a logistic scale in such a way that the estimates of ability parameters on the tranformed scale are as comparable as possible with those on another scale. This scale tranformation process is referred to as equating of scales. Equating is an important procedure in studies…

In order to determine if Rasch Model procedures have any utility for equating pre-existing tests, this study reanalyzed the data from the equating phase of the Anchor Test Study which used a variety of equipercentile and linear model methods. The tests involved included seven reading test batteries, each having from one to three levels and two…

This paper seeks to extend the application of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods in item response theory (IRT) to include the estimation of equating relationships along with the estimation of test item parameters. A method is proposed that incorporates estimation of the equating relationship in the item calibration phase. Item parameters from…

Two major issues are addressed in this commentary on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment: the design of the reading proficiency scale and interpretation of test data; and the dimensionality of this scale and the possibility of supplying data on specific skill dimensions. An examination of NAEP data and the…

The Council of Chief State School Officers has raised some issues pertinent to the implementation of a national project to collect statistical indicators of academic achievement and to compare them across states. The United States Department of Education shares this concern, with an emphasis on sampling schools for a school level analysis which…

The current New Jersey high school graduation law requires that students pass a ninth grade test in reading, writing, and mathematics. Equating the writing test from year to year to be sure that passing scores remain identical, regardless of the test form administered, requires developing a scoring technique. A research study was developed based…

Linear and equipercentile equating conversions were developed for two forms of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) quantitative test and the verbal-plus-quantitative test. From a very large sample of students taking the GRE in October 1981, subpopulations were selected with respect to race, sex, field of study, and level of performance (defined…

This paper examines how various equating methods are affected by: (1) sampling error; (2) sample characteristics; and (3) characteristics of anchor test items. It reviews empirical studies that investigated the invariance of equating transformations, and it discusses empirical and simulation studies that focus on how the properties of anchor tests…

Increasing numbers of state-mandated testing programs have resulted in the selection of norm-referenced tests (NRTs) for statewide assessment. Adaptation or customization of existing tests has become a viable solution for individual programs. Changes in test instruments have arisen from the behaviorist approach and mastery learning, minimum…

In the late 1970s, the Department of Defense requested that the reference population for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) be changed and updated to reflect the current youth population. Analyses of new data collected in 1980 indicated that speeded subtest scores of the new sample were atypically low and that the sample might…