The Arizona Tax Research Association analyzed the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Examination (ATPE). An item analysis of the 150 questions administered to 2,430 applicants from July 1982 through March 1983 was undertaken. A minimum point biserial correlation coefficient of .33 indicated the validity of an item. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the…

Unidimensional item response theory (IRT) is widely used in the analysis and equating of educational achievement tests. If an IRT model is true, item response must be locally independent when the trait is held constant. Several measures of local dependence which are used in conjunction with the three-parameter logistic model in the analysis of…

This study investigates the influence of changes in the wording of simple addition and subtraction problems without affecting their semantic structure on the level of difficulty of those problems for first and second graders and on the nature of their errors. The objective is to contribute to a better understanding of the process of constructing a…

Physics 30 is a 12th-grade science course for students in Alberta, Canada. This document is the final test for the course. Intended for administration during January 1989, it contains 49 multiple-choice questions and four written-response questions. Two-and-one-half hours are allowed for completing the test. No answer key is included since scoring…

A "maximin" model for item response theory based test design is proposed. In this model only the relative shape of the target test information function is specified. It serves as a constraint subject to which a linear programming algorithm maximizes the information in the test. In the practice of test construction there may be several…

Two iterative procedures for constructing Rasch scales are presented. A log-likelihood ratio test based on a quasi-loglinear formulation of the Rasch model is given by which one item at a time can be deleted from or added to an initial item set. In the so-called "top-down" algorithm, items are stepwise deleted from a relatively large…

The comprehensive testing program used by the New York City Board of Examiners to develop tests for licensure of teachers is compared with national approaches to licensing. The first step in developing a licensing examination in New York is thorough job analysis leading to the preparation of task statements. These are used to develop lists of…

The first of three sequels to the booklet "Student Assessment," this booklet begins by describing and providing examples of four different forms that objective questions can take: (1) conventional multiple choice questions; (2) true/false questions; (3) assertion/reason items; and (4) matching items. Guidance is offered on how to decide which type…

The third of three sequels to the booklet "Student Assessment," this booklet begins by describing and giving examples of three forms that essay-type questions can take: (1) unstructured-essay questions; (2) structured-essay questions; and (3) short-notes questions. Guidelines are then provided for deciding which type of question to use in a given…

A pilot study was undertaken to develop appropriate writing samples for assessment of composing tasks, to examine the utility and time requirements of scoring keys, particularly regarding their consistency and objectivity, and to study the efficacy of scoring guides. Five classes from second to sixth grade in a school in the Los Angeles Unified…

Techniques for maximizing discrimination between groups in norm referenced measurement to reflect sensitivity to group differences inherent in the evaluation of multilevel educational systems are discussed. Data from the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES) were used to examine relationships between reading and mathematics achievement and…

The purpose of this report is to describe the development of a pool of mathematical problem-solving situations and a set of items for each situation which provides information about students' qualitatively different levels of reasoning ability as applied to that situation. For each problem-solving situation, a set of "structured…

A method for measuring recognition memory (free of distractors) and false recognition was based on the assumption that the subject was "honest." A distractor-free test of word recognition (a single-item test trial in which the 36 targets were presented prior to the 36 distractors) was compared with a traditional target-distractor…

This report investigates an area of uncertainty in using the Angoff method for setting standards, namely whether or not a judge's conceptualizations of borderline group performance are realistic. Ratings are usually made with reference to the performance of this hypothetical group, therefore the Angoff method's success is dependent on this point.…

Although the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (ISB):High School Form has been used to distinguish between normal and abnormal adolescents, it has been hypothesized that in facility placed juvenile delinquents' highly conflictual responses (i.e., those that index maladjustment) reflect removal from home and agency placement rather than long-term…