This study investigated school-level benefits of using the PLAN program over time. Outcome variables included the average gain in ACT Assessment scores, the proportion of students whose ACT scores achieved college readiness benchmarks, and the proportion of students who took particular patterns of college preparatory coursework in high school.…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate differential grading standards among public high schools. This study focused on documenting differential grading standards between 1998 and 2002. Five years were studied to verify that the observed differences in grading standards were not transient. Differences in grading standards among high…

This report presents the results of a study investigating inflation in high school grade point average (HSGPA). Inflation was measured by comparing HSGPA to ACT Assessment (ACT) scores over the years 1991 to 2003. The results indicate the presence of grade inflation over the 13 years. That is, HSGPAs increased without a concomitant increase in…

Under item response theory (IRT), obtaining a common proficiency scale is required in many applications. Four IRT linking methods, including the mean/mean, mean/sigma, Haebara, and Stocking-Lord methods, have been developed and widely used to estimate linking coefficients (slope and intercept) for a linear transformation from one scale to…