Showing 1 - 2 of 2 Research Library Publications

Uncovering the Complexity of Item Position Effects in a Low-Stakes Testing Context

Posted: | Thai Q. Ong, Dena A. Pastor

Applied Psychological Measurement: Volume 46, issue 2, page(s) 571-588

 

This study evaluates the degree to which position effects on two separate low-stakes tests administered to two different samples were moderated by different item (item length, number of response options, mental taxation, and graphic) and examinee (effort, change in effort, and gender) variables. Items exhibited significant negative linear position effects on both tests, with the magnitude of the position effects varying from item to item.

Category:Assessment-Oriented Research, Reliability/Validity

A Comparison of Experimental and Observational Approaches to Assessing the Effects of Time Constraints in a Medical Licensing Examination

Posted: | P. Harik, B. E. Clauser, I. Grabovsky, P. Baldwin, M. Margolis, D. Bucak, M. Jodoin, W. Walsh, S. Haist

Journal of Educational Measurement: Volume 55, Issue 2, Pages 308-327

 

The widespread move to computerized test delivery has led to the development of new approaches to evaluating how examinees use testing time and to new metrics designed to provide evidence about the extent to which time limits impact performance. Much of the existing research is based on these types of observational metrics; relatively few studies use randomized experiments to evaluate the impact time limits on scores. Of those studies that do report on randomized experiments, none directly compare the experimental results to evidence from observational metrics to evaluate the extent to which these metrics are able to sensitively identify conditions in which time constraints actually impact scores. The present study provides such evidence based on data from a medical licensing examination.

Category:Assessment-Oriented Research, Reliability/Validity, Scoring, Product-Oriented Research, USMLE