ERIC Number: EJ1111282
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Mar
Pages: 43
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2330-8516
EISSN: N/A
An Alternative Data Collection Design for Equating with Very Small Samples. Research Report. ETS RR-08-11
Puhan, Gautam; Moses, Tim; Grant, Mary; McHale, Fred
ETS Research Report Series, Mar 2008
A single group (SG) equating design with nearly equivalent test forms (SiGNET) design was developed by Grant (2006) to equate small volume tests. The basis of this design is that examinees take two largely overlapping test forms within a single administration. The scored items for the operational form are divided into mini-tests called testlets. An additional testlet is created but not scored for the first form. If the scored testlets are Testlets 1-6 and the unscored testlet is Testlet 7, then the first form is composed of Testlets 1-6, the second form is composed of Testlets 2-7, and Testlets 2-6 are common to both test forms. They are administered as a single "administered form", and when a sufficient number of examinees have taken the administered form for an SG equating, the second form (Testlets 2-7) is equated to the first form (Testlets 1-6) using SG equating. As evident, there are at least two merits of the SiGNET design over the nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. First, it facilitates the use of an SG equating design, which has the least random equating error, and second, it allows for the accumulation of sufficient data to equate the second form. Since the examinees scores are based on only the first form (i.e., the operational form), the two forms can be administered until sufficient data are collected to equate the second form. This study compared equatings under the SiGNET and NEAT designs and found reduced bias and error for the SiGNET design in very small sample size situations (e.g., N = 10 or 15). Implications for practice using the SiGNET design are also discussed.
Descriptors: Data Collection, Equated Scores, Item Sampling, Sample Size, Test Format, Test Construction, Error of Measurement, Statistical Bias
Educational Testing Service. Rosedale Road, MS19-R Princeton, NJ 08541. Tel: 609-921-9000; Fax: 609-734-5410; e-mail: RDweb@ets.org; Web site: https://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/ets
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A