Item response theory (IRT) and related latent variable models represent modern psychometric theory, the successor to classical test theory in psychological assessment. Although IRT has become prevalent in the measurement of ability and achievement, its contributions to clinical domains have been less extensive. Applications of IRT to clinical…

Test-based assessment tools are mostly focused on the use of computers. However, advanced Information and Communication Technologies, such as handheld devices, opens up the possibilities of creating new assessment scenarios, increasing the teachers' choices to design more appropriate tests for their subject areas. In this paper we use the term…

This paper considers uses of technology in educational assessment from the perspective of innovation and support for teaching and learning. It examines assessment cases drawn from contexts that include large-scale testing programs as well as classroom-based programs, and attempts that have been made to harness the power of technology to provide…

We consider the situation in which a learner must induce the rule that explains an observed set of data but the hypothesis space of possible rules is not explicitly enumerated or identified. The first part of the article demonstrates that as long as hypotheses are sparse (i.e., index less than half of the possible entities in the domain) then a…

Although retrieval practice typically enhances memory retention, it can also impair subsequent eyewitness memory accuracy (Chan, Thomas, & Bulevich, 2009). Specifically, participants who had taken an initial test about a witnessed event were more likely than nontested participants to recall subsequently encountered misinformation--an effect we…

The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to subscores. First, examples of subscores from an operational test are provided. Then, a review of methods that can be used to examine if subscores have adequate psychometric quality is provided. It is demonstrated, using results from operational and simulated data, that subscores…

The Trail-Making Test (TMT) is a widely used neuropsychological measure that assesses visuomotor abilities and cognitive flexibility. For the TMT-A condition participants are required to locate and connect numbers (i.e. 1-2-3...) while in the TMT-B condition participants perform the set-shifting task of locating and connecting numbers and letters…

A theoretical debate in artificial grammar learning (AGL) regards the learnability of hierarchical structures. Recent studies using an A[superscript n]B[superscript n] grammar draw conflicting conclusions ([Bahlmann and Friederici, 2006] and [De Vries et al., 2008]). We argue that 2 conditions crucially affect learning A[superscript…

Writing task variants can increase test security in high-stakes essay assessments by substantially increasing the pool of available writing stimuli and by making the specific writing task less predictable. A given prompt (parent) may be used as the basis for one or more different variants. Six variant types based on argument essay prompts from a…

This article provides the reader with insight into what research and development (R&D) work specifically entails. The various stages in development processes are described from the research question and analyses that have current practice as the point of departure to consolidation and new practice based on the testing of concrete teaching…

While much of the work in language testing is concerned with constructing quality tests in order to measure language knowledge in reliable and valid ways, there has been a significant movement in language testing research that examines tests in the context of their use in education and society. This line of research exits from the notion that…

This dissertation includes three essays: one essay focuses on the effect of teacher preparation programs on teacher knowledge while the other two focus on test-takers' response times on test items. Essay One addresses the problem of how opportunities to learn in teacher preparation programs influence future elementary mathematics teachers'…

Sampling errors limit the accuracy with which forms can be linked. Limitations on accuracy are especially important in testing programs in which a very large number of forms are employed. Standard inequalities in mathematical statistics may be used to establish lower bounds on the achievable inking accuracy. To illustrate results, a variety of…

The objectives of this study were threefold: (a) to determine whether the United Arab Emirates (UAE) general and special education teachers were making any specific testing modifications for students with disabilities; (b) to survey UAE general and special education teachers' perceptions of testing modifications in terms of their usefulness,…

Application of Bayesian item selection criteria in computerized adaptive testing might result in improvement of bias and MSE of the ability estimates. The question remains how to apply Bayesian item selection criteria in the context of constrained adaptive testing, where large numbers of specifications have to be taken into account in the item…