The development and use of item shells in the construction of a series of standardized tests of reading comprehension at the elementary school level are described. An item shell is an item that is devoid of specific content, but contains key words and a distinctive syntactic structure. The specific content of the item shell varies depending on the…

The use of item response theory (IRT) is a prerequisite to successful use of computerized test systems. In item response models, as opposed to classical test theory, the abilities of the examinees and the properties of the items are parameterized separately. Therefore, when measuring the abilities of examinees, the model implicitly corrects for…

This paper presents an explanation of the program design of the three separate Pascal-language programs which comprise UCLA's Diagnostic Testing Package "DX." The three parts of the DX test package are three closely interrelated programs--Editest, Runtest, and Summary. Editest serves the following functions: (1) the creation of a…

As one in a series of test item collections developed by the Assessment and Evaluation Unit of the Directorate of Studies, items are made available to teachers for the construction of unit tests or term examinations or as a basis for class discussion. Each collection was reviewed for content validity and reliability. The test items meet syllabus…

Item banks offer a different approach to test development than that of the more traditional item specification method. This study was designed as an initial comparative investigation in the Area. Fourth grade math and reading tests were developed using both items written from item specifications and items drawn from an existing item bank. Four…

This paper has shown the advantages of tailored testing over traditional methods, the need for latent trait theory in the application of tailored testing, and some of the results available to show the quality of estimates obtained by tailored testing procedures. Since the tailored testing procedures overcome many of the problems with traditional…

A collection of 185 objectives and related test items for students studying auto mechanics in grades 10 through 12 is provided. Auto tune-up and repair skills are emphasized. The objectives are divided into two sections: objectives calling for demonstrations of the processes, and objectives requiring written responses. Most objectives contain…

The computer can assist test construction in the following four ways: (1) storage or banking of test items; (2) banking of item attributes; (3) test construction; and (4) test printing. Automated Item Banking (AIB) is a computerized item storage and test construction system which illustrates these capabilities. It was developed, implemented, and…

By means of computer simulation of test responses, the reliability of item analysis data and the accuracy of equating were examined for hypothetical samples of 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 subjects for two tests with 20 equating items plus 60 additional items on the same scale. Birnbaum's three-parameter logistic model was used for the simulation. The…

A complete set of behavioral objectives for first-year algebra taught in any of grades 8 through 12 is presented. Three to six sample test items and answers are provided for each objective. Objectives were determined by surveying the most used secondary school algebra textbooks. Fourteen major categories are included: (1) whole numbers--operations…

Sixty-three behavioral objectives and related test items for United States history in grades seven through nine are presented. Each sample contains the objective, sample test items and directions, and criteria for judging the adequacy of student responses. Fourteen of the 15 categories are content oriented and presented chronologically: (1)…

An item generation procedure is described which was utilized in the development of Computer Managed Review and Examination courses for the education of nurses in remote areas. The major emphases are the processes of domain definition, item writing, and item edition. Specific discussion is presented concerning methods of item construction to assess…

This report summarizes the development and validation of a test of literal comprehension based on a modified cloze technique. This modification of the cloze offers an objective and partially computerized procedure for constructing items in the multiple-choice format. A field test of the multiple-choice cloze (MCC) involved the administration of 36…

Symposium papers presented at an Annual Meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education (Chicago, 1972), all of which concern banks of test items for use in constructing criterion referenced tests, comprise this document. The first paper, "Locally Produced Item Banks" by Thomas J. Slocum, presents information on the…

This is one of the outcomes of the work of the Massachusetts Evaluation Service Center for Occupational Education (ESCOE). Automobile mechanics was selected as a test development area because of the uniqueness of its curriculum, being controlled by the automobile manufacturers through competitive design and redesign of their products. Because of…