Specific questions addressed in this study include how time limits affect a test's construct and predictive validities, how time limits affect an examinee's time allocation and test performance, and whether the assumption about how examinees answer items is valid. Interactions involving an examinee's sex and age are studied. Two parallel forms of…

The work presented in this paper defined conceptually the concepts of multidimensional discrimination and information, derived mathematical expressions for the concepts for a particular multidimensional item response theory (IRT) model, and applied the concepts to actual test data. Multidimensional discrimination was defined as a function of the…

The effects of feedback about the ratings of other judges on subsequent ratings using the Nedelsky method and the ability of judges to retain or eliminate options in a manner consistent with the judgments of minimally competent examinees were studied using data from a basic algebra examination administered to 227 college students in 1987. The…

The South Pacific Commission's English reading curriculum, designed to accompany and reinforce the Tate English oral skills series, is critiqued in terms of curriculum design and implementation in schools in the Micronesian region. The construction and emphases of the classroom and teacher materials are described, and an analysis is given of the…

Instructional sensitivity indices are compared from four perspectives: (1) criterion-referenced testing; (2) classical test theory; (3) item response theory; and (4) Bayesian theory. Instructional sensitivity is defined as the tendency of a test item to vary in difficulty as a function of instruction. The instructional sensitivity of the items in…

Questionnaires were completed by 62 college professors in a study to determine the specific reading and listening comprehension difficulties students were having in various introductory courses (including humanities, natural and social sciences, and the technical professions), and to determine the instructional techniques used by professors to…

This study examined the difficulty level of essay topics used in the large-scale assessment of writing in relation to five different scoring models, and sought to determine what effects the scoring models would have on passing rates. In model one, examinee's score is the direct result of a score assigned by the reader or the sum of scores assigned…

The effect of increased writing or planning time on a test of basic college level writing ability was studied. The essay portion of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test was given to students in nine New Jersey public colleges and three New Jersey public high schools. Each student wrote two essays on two different topics. The first…

Three different item-bank maintenance procedures were compared for the purpose of investigating their cumulative effects on a series of longitudinal equatings of tests measuring the same characteristic. Item data used resulted from Rasch one-parameter latent trait test calibrations. Comparison of the results in the various final banks were made.…

A case study of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE) program was described to assist others launching the development of large scale item banks. FTCE has four subtests: Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Professional Education. Rasch calibrated item banks have been developed for all subtests except Writing. The methods used to…

The feasibility of creating an item bank from a teacher-made test was examined in two comparable sections of a graduate-level introductory measurement course. The 67-item midterm examination contained multiple-choice and master matching items, which required higher level cognitive processes such as application and analysis. The feasibility of…

In support of research examining relationships between learner characteristics and the quality of online discussions, this paper surveys different methods for evaluating discussions. The paper will present coding methods used in our own research as well as methods used by others interested in quality online discussions. Key topics include what…

Two experiments assessed the effects of text cohesion and schema availability on sixth grade children's comprehension of social studies passages that varied in vocabulary difficulty. The purpose of the experiments was to test the compensation hypothesis within the interactive theory of reading, which assumes that reading involves many…

This study examines children's understanding of temporal markers and explores a strategy for teaching such understanding when it is absent. The original sample for this study consisted of 22 first graders and 85 kindergarten children. All subjects were individually pretested with the Temporal Marker Test (TMT) which evaluates performance on eight…

Teachers' guidebooks that accompanied commonly used kindergarten, first, and second grade language arts kits or textbooks were reviewed to determine what listening tasks and thinking skills were stressed. Five first grade, five second grade, and two kindergarten kits/textbooks were selected for review. Examination of these materials clearly…