The Maryland Functional Mathematics Test, Level II (MFMT-II) assesses Maryland students' mastery of functional mathematics skills that are described in the Declared Competencies Index published in 1980 by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). The test is also used to certify students for graduation from high school and to identify…

To continue upper division coursework past 15 credit hours, students at Southwest Texas State University must pass the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) General Examination in English Composition with Essay, with a minimum score of 421 and 45 semester hours of credit, and the CLEP General Examination in Mathematics, with a minimum score of…

This study examined differential item performance in the Progressive Achievement Tests for Mathematics (PAT Math) by both Pakeha (reference--majority) and Maori (focal--minority) students in New Zealand using both Item Response Theory (IRT) and non-IRT techniques. The PAT Math, a 50-item standardized test used in part to guide within class and…

These item specifications were developed as a part of the Arkansas "Minimum Performance Testing Program" (MPT). There is one item specification for each instructional objective included in the MPT. The purpose of an item specification is to provide an overview of the general content and format of test items used to measure an…

A model for use in identifying assessment needs in association with teacher-made mathematics and science tests at the secondary level was developed. The model focuses on the identification and narrowing of discrepancies between teachers' perceptions of their testing practices and actual practice. All 19 math and 16 science teachers at a 4-year…

This study investigated the effect of diagram formats on performance on geometry items in order to determine whether certain examinees are affected by different item formats and whether such differences arise from the different intellectual demands made by these formats. Thirty-two experimental, multiple-choice geometry items were administered in…

For the purpose of promoting international cooperation in mathematics, physics, and chemistry teaching research, this first yearbook of the Finnish Association of Mathematics and Science Education Research contains articles of recent research on mathematics teaching. The contents consist of five articles in English, two in German, and one thesis…

From the fall of 1981 through June 1984, more than 850 disabled examinees took special administration of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). Grade point averages were obtained on 278 disabled students; 236 had enough complete data to be included in the study. Disabled students earned lower mean GRE scores than their nonhandicapped counterparts…

Studies that trace change over time are essential to inferring how people change. To add understanding to the change process in school systems in Georgia that demonstrated improved Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) scores for several consecutive years, this study was conducted. Interviews were held with 90 teachers, administrators, and supervisors…

Four topics related to mathematics testing for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are discussed: (1) mathematics achievement; (2) past NAEP approaches; (3) needed changes; and (4) a new conceptual basis for profiling mathematical performance, including recommendations for strengthening current practice. The basic strategy for…

This paper discusses the use of latent class structure as a modelling framework for tests in which much of the data conforms to a relatively small number of systematic patterns. Application of this framework to the analysis of tests has been limited because available parameter estimation algorithms can only handle a relatively small number of…

A visual display is introduced that enables one to compare the predictive validities of all possible non-negatively weighted sums of two predictors. This two-predictor validity curve assesses the level of predictability of a criterion from composites of two predictors. Derivations are presented for the general case. For illustrative purposes, the…

The effectiveness of a commercial preparation class in New York City for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was studied. A group of the regular clientele of the school (55 eleventh graders) was compared with a group of low-income minority students given scholarships to the course (33 Black or Hispanic eleventh graders). The effects of the coaching…

Item bias is defined as the dependence of item responses and group membership conditional on the value of the trait that the test is supposed to measure. The results of item bias detection methods based on this conditional definition and using a stepwise or iterative procedure appear to be adequate. In this paper, experimental studies in the…

When standard paper-and-pencil tests are used to measure progress in mathematics, specific assumptions quite apart from those dealing with the statistical validity of the test are often made. These can lead to improper student treatment and often suggest successful teaching which is not warranted. The results of examining 32 fourth through sixth…