One challenge associated with computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is the maintenance of test and item security while allowing for daily testing. An alternative to continually creating new pools containing an independent set of items would be to consider each CAT pool as a sample of items from a larger collection (referred to as a VAT) rather than…

Two new methods for improving the measurement precision of a general test factor are proposed and evaluated. One new method provides a multidimensional item response theory estimate obtained from conventional administrations of multiple-choice test items that span general and nuisance dimensions. The other method chooses items adaptively to…

North Carolina began implementing End of Course (EOC) tests in 1985-86, In 1998-99, student achievement for high school students was measured through results on the 10 required multiple choice EOC tests, the state's writing assessment, and the percentage of students who completed college preparatory courses of study. This report contains the…

Part of a special issue, "Materialien zur Rechtschreinbung und ihrer Reform" (Materials on Orthography and Its Reform). (DD)

Educator and examiner play similar roles in the education process. Biology examinations in England have undergone changes in recent years. Trends seem toward acceptance of internal assessments, de-emphasizing external practical examinations and replacing essay type examinations with multiple choice tests. (PS)

Two problems are investigated: (1) the fact that statistics from pretests sometimes vary widely from those for the actual test; (2) whether or not a correction factor should be applied for guessing. (DF)

Includes a sample of a classical studies examination given at the British Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Birmingham, and a criticism and defense of the examination. (DS)

Within the limitations of the present study, evidence is presented that the use of three-choice items improves the power and discrimination of tests. (PR)

The purpose of this paper was to provide an empirical test of the hypothesis that elimination scores are more reliable and valid than classical corrected-for-guessing scores or weighted-choice scores. The evidence presented supports the hypothesized superiority of elimination scoring. (Author)

Grade A undergraduate psychology students used different test-taking strategies on a multiple-choice exam than did C or F students. In general, the strategies of the best students were characterized by a more thorough consideration of the alternative answers for each question. (RM)

Reanalyzes data provided by Swanson (1976) and Straton and Catts (1980) to test claims of superiority for the three-alternative multiple-choice item test and to present possible oversights made by these researchers. Results suggest it is doubtful that three-alternative test items are better than four-alternative items. (PAS)