ERIC Number: ED271488
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Apr
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
An Empirical Study of the Properties of Two Estimates of Decision-Consistency Used with Two Types of Teacher-Constructed Classroom Tests.
Macpherson, Colin R.; Rowley, Glenn L.
Teacher-made mastery tests were administered in a classroom-sized sample to study their decision consistency. Decision-consistency of criterion-referenced tests is usually defined in terms of the proportion of examinees who are classified in the same way after two test administrations. Single-administration estimates of decision consistency were used in this study. First, it was shown that the Model 2 estimate of Marshall and Serlin's mean split-half coefficient of agreement was equivalent to the Subkoviak estimate of agreement. Ten 20-item criterion-referenced tests were constructed by 10 teachers, following strict criterion-referenced test specifications. Another 10 tests were constructed by another set of teachers, based on loosely-specified sets of objectives. These were called unit tests. It was found that the two estimation models examined produced estimates which were generally acceptable with teacher-constructed tests and classroom-sized samples, but the Model 2 estimate was marginally preferable in that it was generally less biased than Model 1 estimates. There was no systematic difference between the criterion referenced tests and the unit tests with respect to decision-consistency accuracy. (GDC)
Descriptors: Classroom Research, Comparative Testing, Criterion Referenced Tests, Cutting Scores, Decision Making, Error of Measurement, Estimation (Mathematics), Higher Education, Mastery Tests, Mathematical Formulas, Multiple Choice Tests, Sample Size, Teacher Made Tests, Test Bias, Test Construction, Test Format, Test Reliability
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A