Presents an integer programming approach to item bank design that can be used to calculate an optimal blueprint for an item bank in order to support an existing testing program. Demonstrates the approach empirically using an item bank designed for the Law School Admission Test. (SLD)

Generating a test from an item bank using a criterion based on classical test theory parameters poses considerable problems. A mathematical model is formulated that maximizes the reliability coefficient alpha, subject to logical constraints on the choice of items. Theorems ensuring appropriate application of the Lagragian relation techniques are…

Our memories are not necessarily "bad," but stored in different areas. By understanding the five memory lanes (semantic, episodic, procedural, automatic, and emotional), a high school English teacher discovered why her students could not do fractions (to calculate grades) in English class. Paper-and-pencil tests can be redesigned to assess memory…

Discusses the logic of the rule-space model (K. Tatsuoka, 1983) as it applies to test development and analysis. The rule-space model is a statistical method for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of attribute-mastery patterns associated with different cognitive skills. Directs readers to a tutorial that may be downloaded. (SLD)

Describes the Texas test development process in detail, showing how each test development step is linked to the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing." The routine use of this process provides evidence of the content and curricular validity of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. (SLD)

Reviews six studies that examined properties of the Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile: (1) replication demonstrating the multidimensionality of the work ethic construct; (2) initial psychometric evaluation; (3) relationship among subscales and with measures of cognitive ability and personality; (4) generalizability between student and nonstudent…

Addresses ethical issues regarding Internet career assessment: reliability, validity, user readiness, administration, lack of practitioner awareness, equitable access, confidentiality, and privacy. Makes recommendations in the areas of research and development, training, standards, and stable funding of assessment development. (SK)

One-factor, three-factor, and higher-order factor structures of the Maslach Burnout Inventory were tested with 183 elementary-secondary teachers and administrators and 162 small business owners. Analyses suggested the three-factor structure was most plausible. Addition of business owners extended the generalizability of the inventory. (SK)

This book is designed to be an instructional guide rather than a technical manual. For that reason, it provides a comprehensive and integrated overview of the procedures for detecting differential item functioning with citations to more technically detailed references. (SLD)

Describes mapping variables, the principal technique for planning and constructing a test or rating instrument. A variable map is also useful for interpreting results. Provides several maps to show the importance and value of mapping a variable by person and item data. (Author/SLD)

Provides clear definitions of the terms "validity" and "reliability" in the context of developing scoring rubrics and illustrates these definitions through examples. Also clarifies how validity and reliability may be addressed in the development of scoring rubrics, defined as descriptive scoring schemes developed to guide the analysis of the…

Describes the development of the Personal Globe Inventory, based on a spherical model of interests, which contains 18 scales representing people/things, data/ideas, and prestige dimensions of occupations. Discusses tests of reliability and construct validity and provides five sample interpretations of its use. (Contains 69 references.) (SK)

Background: When an exam question is read, a mental representation of the task is formed in each student's mind. This processing can be affected by features such as visual resources (e.g. pictures, diagrams, photographs, tables), which can come to dominate the mental representation due to their salience. Purpose: The aim of this research was to…

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) provides language, concepts, and knowledge representations for designing and delivering educational assessments, all organized around the evidentiary argument an assessment is meant to embody. This article describes ECD in terms of layers for analyzing domains, laying out arguments, creating schemas for…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 14th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2017), 18-20 October 2017, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) and endorsed by the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in…