Compared the performance of four polytomous item response theory (IRT) and three linear models for constructing adjusted grade-point-average (GPA) measures. Studies involving cohorts of 1,255 and 1,796 college students and an additional 1,823 and 1,879 college students. Discusses implications of findings for correlation of grade-based measures and…

Designed a questionnaire and created a scale measuring studying and learning based on motivation with items answered from ideal, "capability," and studying and learning behavior perspectives. Results for 372 Australian college students support the view that striving for excellence, desire to learn, and personal incentives are important academic…

Used Rasch analytic procedures to study item bias or differential item functioning in both dichotomous and scalar items on a test of English for academic purposes. Results for 139 college students on a pilot English language test model the approach and illustrate the measurement challenges posed by a diagnostic instrument to measure English…

Extended work in comparing item fit statistics and principal component analysis as tools for assessing the unidimensionality requirements of Rasch models and demonstrated methods to explore how violations of the unidimensionality requirement influence person measurement through 2 studies involving simulated rating scale data and responses to a…

Studied item calibration stability in relation to response time and the levels of item difficulty between different response groups on a sample of 389 examinees responding to 6 subtest items of the Perceptual Ability Test of the Dental Admission Test. Results show that scores were equally useful for all groups, and different sources of item…

Examined the role that gender differences play in the determination of the components influencing the difficulty of spatial ability items. Results for 2,245 examinees taking a spatial ability test that is part of the Dental School Admission Battery show that component difficulties show little variation across gender. (SLD)

Compared scores assigned to college placement essays by a computer program with the evaluations of human readers for just under 1,300 essays. Results show high agreement between computer and human scores, and both human and machine readers tended to give higher scores for analytic and practical themes and lower scores for those involving emotions.…

Explored the measurement issues in a two-stage evaluation for an outstanding faculty award. Thirty college teachers were rated by 293 students using a newly developed inventory. Items fit a Rasch model fairly well, and the separation reliability for the teachers was high. A cut score was established, and a short version was developed. (SLD)

Explored the possibility of developing a common metric for measuring goal orientation by simultaneously calibrating four commonly used goal orientation scales to see if item responses met the unidimensionality requirement. Results for 305 psychology students in France yield a common metric for interpretation and statistical analyses. (SLD)

Applied the rating scale model (D. Andrich, 1978) to data from a survey of student satisfaction with college services using data from a single college with item samples sizes ranging from 2 to 355. Compared to items' average ratings, item parameter estimates in the rating scale model did a better job of predicting the item receiving the higher…

Studied the interactive effect of instructional strategies enhanced with text-plus-textual metaphors or text-plus-graphical metaphors and cognitive style on the acquisition of programming concepts using a measure of cognitive style and the QUEST Interactive Test Analysis System. Results for 203 undergraduates support the reliability of the…

Developed a computerized adaptive language proficiency test for a community college in Quebec, Canada and obtained item response theory calibrations on the items from 700 to 800 administrations. Describes projected efforts to detect instances in which "cheating low" (answering incorrectly deliberately) occurs. (SLD)

Used confirmatory factor analysis to examine whether the two-factor solution to the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (E. Hart, M. Leary, and W. Rejeski, 1989) was meaningful. Results for 4 samples of data for college students, high school students, and athletes (n=1,053) from previous studies support the existence of a single substantive factor…

Explored the dimensionality of responses to the Adult Behavior Checklist-Revised, a screening assessment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHA) in college students. Responses from 317 undergraduates were used, with 8 judges involved in standard setting. Findings show secondary variables that may have clinical implications. (SLD)

Developed a questionnaire of 80 self-report items to measure student approaches to study in higher education, attempting to create a scale and study it with a Rasch measurement model. Results for 350 Australian college students supported the conceptual structure of the scale as involving studying attitudes and behaviors toward the identified five…