One means of learning about the processes operating in a multiple choice test is to include some test items, called nonsense items, which have no correct answer. This paper compares two versions of a mathematical model of test performance to interpret test data that includes both genuine and nonsense items. One formula is based on the usual…

This document, prepared as a conference handout, consists of a description of the revised General Educational Development (GED) Tests scheduled for introduction in 1988 and a series of recommendations concerning the content of future GED tests, which were formulated by a committee appointed by the Commission on Educational Credit and Credentials…

The Responsiblity Test measures the secondary school student's level of knowledge (remembering or recall, understanding and thinking) of social responsibility, other types of responsibility, the benefits and costs of responsibility, the conditions and conflicts of responsibility, and ways of providing responsible behavior. It consists of 21…

It is usually assumed that the procedures followed in developing criterion-referenced (CR) educational achievement tests ensure their content validity. This assumption is reasonable for the class of "domain-specified" CR tests, in which the item domain is completely specified by item generation rules. However, most CR tests are of the…

It was concluded that a multiple choice form corresponding to a sentence completion measure, test clearly defined personality areas (such as autonomy) could be a reasonable alternative for many purposes. (Author/DEP)

A pilot study was conducted on test item ambiguity in standardized tests. A group of second and third grade children were selected and given a random sample of items from four standardized test series. Items were drawn from the reading, science and social studies subtests and put together in a composite reading comprehension, science, and social…

In the specific methods of standard setting in testing, judgments about individuals being tested, contrasting groups being tested, and judgments about the test items are discussed. In judgments about individual test-takers, assumptions are presented based on the knowledge and skills the test is intended to measure, the test-takers' skills at the…

A project was conducted to develop a criterion-referenced student testing program for secondary home economics (consumer education) in South Carolina. Procedures used to develop the test included the following: (1) the content elements of the consumer education curriculum were identified; (2) each content element was classified into the type and…

Academic psychology has long been composed of two disciplines, one experimental and one correlational. These two disciplines each developed their own method of studying structure in data: multidimensional scaling (MDS) and factor analysis. Both methods use similar kinds of input data, proximity measures on object pairs. Both represent the object…

This paper presents the interim results of a set of studies undertaken to develop a much needed methodology for establishing content validity in domain-referenced achievement tests. The study results are presented in the context of the larger issue of the improvement of test design. School teachers, administrators and graduate students were…

Most attempts to correct for the presence of biased test items in a measurement instrument have been either to remove the items or to adjust the scores to correct for the bias. Using the Rasch Dichotomous Response Model and the independent ability estimates derived from three sets of items, those which favor females, those which favor males, and…

This study attempts to establish the ability of a panel of five judges with varied mathematics background to distinguish between two types of mathematical tests by separating their component items when they are presented in a mixed pool of aptitude and achievement tests. Typically, the two tests show high correlation. The judges showed about 70%…

Item response changing as a function of test anxiety was investigated. Seventy graduate students enrolled in a basic statistics course completed 73 multiple-choice items on the course content and the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS). The TAS consisted of 25 items that students indicated were descriptive (true) or not descriptive (false) of themselves.…

This journal for teachers of English as a second language (ESL) to science and engineering students at the university level includes the following articles: (1) "Conversation Piece" by Maria Al-Salem; (2) "Writing a Chemistry Laboratory Report" by Noel Simon; (3) "A Behavioural Summary of a General English Syllabus Content for False Beginners" by…

Item bias in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) was investigated using black, white, and Hispanic learning disabled children. Samples of 112 blacks, 126 whites, and 117 Hispanics were matched on subtest raw score and sex. An item-by-group analysis of variance was computed on delta transformed item means for each of nine…