A study investigated factors in design of oral language comprehension tests and their relevance in determining actual language proficiency, focusing on the tests' decoding requirements. Task-based, interactive oral language tests were designed: (1) to elicit information about integration of first (L1) and second languages (L2) in the learner's…

This paper presents a study on the generation of mathematics test items using algorithmic methods. The history of this approach is briefly reviewed and is followed by a survey of the research to date on the statistical parallelism of algorithmically generated mathematics items. Results are presented for 8 parallel test forms generated using 16…

The difference between compensatory and non-compensatory item response theory (IRT) models in terms of the dimensionality of test data generated by them, and its effect on the model-data-fit were examined. The STRESS (proportion of variance not accounted for by the multidimensional scaling model) and RSQ (proportion of variance accounted for by…

Since 1985 several procedures for computerized test construction using linear programing techniques have been described in the literature. To apply these procedures successfully, suitable item banks are needed. The problem of designing item banks based on item response theory (IRT) is addressed. A procedure is presented that determines whether an…

A project is reported that developed a test for students in foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) programs. Relevant tests in Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL) were reviewed in order to develop a listening and reading test that could determine achievement in a typical FLES curriculum. Pilot testing was conducted with 121…

Equating studies using item response theory (IRT) are reviewed. The most well-known papers, as well as a sampling of lesser-known studies, are included. Accompanying tables list the papers and classify them according to the test used, models used, test length and type, sample size and type, method of assessment, equating design, and kinds of…

The Art Self-Concept Inventory (ASCI) was developed as a situation specific self-concept instrument to measure the students' ideas and feelings about themselves in the art context. Art self-concept was defined as students' perceptions of themselves as makers, as judges, and as enjoyers of art. To top these dimensions of art self-concept, items…

The report describes goals and accomplishments of a project to develop and validate an assessment battery of leisure functioning in handicapped children. The battery was intended to meet the need created by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and provide data for the assessment of recreation and leisure functioning as part of the…

Objective and reliable techniques for the assessment of attention deficit disorders (ADD) with and without hyperactivity in children have remained largely unavailable to psychologists, educators and pediatricians. As a consequence, they have tended to base their evaluations of ADD solely on observations and teacher reports, or on measures such as…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of creating a short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) for use in a clinical setting with disabled readers. The subjects were 100 clients ages six to sixteen of the Belser-Parton Reading Center at the University of Alabama whose files contained scores…

Item analysis procedures appropriate for domain-referenced classroom testing are described. A conceptual framework within which item statistics can be considered and promising statistics in light of this framework are presented. The sampling fluctuations of the more promising item statistics for sample sizes comparable to the typical classroom…

The Self Description Questionnaire II (SDQ II) was administered to 901 students (11 to 18 years old) in grades 7 through 12 who attended one public coeducational high school. The 11 factors the SDQ II was designed to measure were clearly identified in a conventional/exploratory factor analysis and in a confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL.…

Studies on peer interaction in infancy seem to imply that social group structure emerges from infants' and toddlers' dyadic interactions. In contrast to this position, the present study hypothesizes that attention structure may be a major precursor for social group structure. To investigate that possibility, an attempt was made to develop a…

Educational item banking presents observers with a considerable paradox. The development of test items from scratch is viewed as wasteful, a luxury in times of declining resources. On the other hand, item banking has failed to become a mature technology despite large amounts of money and the efforts of talented professionals. The question of which…

Discussions of "test curriculum overlap" that focus on the term "mismatch" tend to be based on several untenable premises. This paper addresses the issue of the degree to which standardized tests should reflect the specific content of a given school curriculum with regard to three points: (1) The idea of matching the content of…