The effectiveness of five methods used to estimate the population parameters of a variable of interest from a random sample in the presence of non-response to mail surveys was tested in conditions that vary the return rate and the relationship of the variable of interest to the likelihood of response. Data from 125,092 adult Alabama residents in…

A dissertation-study focused on 210,305 non-categorical third and fifth grade reading results of the 1987 Pennsylvania Test for Essential Learning Skills (TELS). The data given by the Pennsylvania Department of Education was analyzed through descriptive statistics for the following purposes: (1) to determine a difference and a magnitude of a…

The existence of differential prediction of two-year grade point average is reported for gender groups within programs of study at the University of Iowa. Academic records of all freshmen entering the University in 1978 in the fields of Business, Liberal Arts, Pre-Medicine, and those undecided as to major were analyzed with respect to American…

This report is the first in a series of publications emanating from a four year research effort designed to further knowledge of admissions testing and handicapped people. The report is divided into three major sections describing (1) the development of the research program, (2) a context for conducting that research, and (3) major research issues…

Claims of overrepresentation of minority students in special education programs and the myths and distortions surrounding these claims are the topic of this study. The findings of a report on this topic performed by the National Academy of Sciences is discussed, noting that although the report focused on the right question (why is…

A method for obtaining curriculum-based estimates of student achievement is described. These estimates can be obtained through the use of a set of curriculum weights designed to reflect student opportunity to learn. If the match between the presented curriculum and test content is low, then the curriculum weights can be used to minimize potential…

Concern about the possible bias of using only verbal assessments for the identification of intellectually gifted students led to an examination of the effect of incorporating nonverbal assessments of intelligence into the identification process. Two nonverbal instruments (Progressive Matrices and Test of Nonverbal Intelligence) were used in…

This document provides a discussion of the scrutiny for bias and unfairness that standardized tests have come under by persons involved in the construction, administration, use, and interpretation of test results. After this discussion six simulation exercises are provided. In these exercises a situation is described involving the use of test…

Although item bias statistics are widely recommended for use in test development and test analysis work, problems arise in their interpretation. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate the validity of logistic test models and computer simulation methods for providing a frame of reference for item bias statistic interpretations.…

A new approach to assessing unexpected differential item performance (item bias or item fairness) was developed and applied to the item responses of males and females to Scholastic Aptitude Test and Test of Standard Written English items administered operationally in December 1977. While the main body of the report describes the particulars of the…

Combinations of five methods of equating test forms and two methods of selecting samples of students for equating were compared for accuracy. The two sampling methods were representative sampling from the population and matching samples on the anchor test score. The equating methods were: (1) the Tucker method; (2) the Levine method; (3) the…

The role of content in formal operations tasks was explored in research that systematically varied the content of tasks and children's performance by developmental level and socioeconomic status (SES). Subjects were 110 Icelandic 12-year-olds who had entered a longitudinal study when they were 7 years old. Two extreme ability groups of children…

The sensitivity of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking with regard to an experimenter-induced response set was investigated. One hundred and ninety-eight subjects were divided into four groups. Before performing the Unusual Uses Activity (Verbal Form A), each group was given a unique set of instructions. Group I received standard instructions…

A series of research studies, involving 1,841 high school students was conducted to develop a model to screen for cultural bias in the diagnostic process for those students with learning and behavior problems, both in and out of the special education program. A review of the literature looked at the factors of sex, ordinal place, father's…

Two psychometric approaches for the investigation of item bias were employed to examine the performance of four sociocultural groups on six subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R). The sample of 950 students was from Pima County, Arizona. One approach involved the comparison of the psychometric indices of…