ERIC Number: ED148862
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1977-Jan
Pages: 79
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
An Investigation of Item Obsolescence in the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
Braswell, James; Petersen, Nancy
The decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores is a direct result of lower average performance on equating questions that are reused over a period of several years. Therefore, it is important to examine the content of representative questions, used over time, for possible obsolescence. Two panels, one concentrating on the verbal section of the SAT and the other on the mathematical, were appointed to review questions that appeared in earlier editions of the test and then in more recent editions. Raters were asked to indicate how the difficulty of each question might be expected to change between the two administration dates. The raters' predictions were then compared with available item analysis data. For the most part, the changes predicted by raters were not substantiated by the statistical analysis. While the relative difficulty of some questions changed between administration dates, it was not possible, except for a few mathematical questions, to attribute these changes to curricular change or to broader social factors. These mathematical questions were predicted by the raters to be easier at the more recent administration, and their prediction was supported by the statistical analysis. The rating form and the resulting data are appended. (Author/EVH)
Descriptors: College Bound Students, College Entrance Examinations, Difficulty Level, Educational Problems, Educational Trends, Equated Scores, Item Analysis, Mathematics, Obsolescence, Performance Factors, Scores, Secondary Education, Tables (Data), Test Items, Testing Problems, Time, Trend Analysis, Verbal Ability
College Board Publication Orders, Box 2815, Princeton, New Jersey 0854l (Item No. 251706X, $5.00)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ.
Authoring Institution: College Entrance Examination Board, New York, NY.
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: SAT (College Admission Test)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A


