33 Statistical Procedures Used in College Admissions Testing

Abstract

Publisher Summary ACT® together with scholastic aptitude test (SAT), both assessments have dominated the landscape in large-scale college admissions testing. This chapter reviews the statistical procedures used in college admissions testing. The chronological order of a testing cycle is—namely, test design, item pretesting, item analysis, test equating and scaling, and test reliability and validity. The chapter discusses the procedures and guidelines for test design and assembly. The first step in designing a test is to ascertain the purpose of the test. It is important to know the way the information derived from the test is intended to be used and whether it is a test of general knowledge or is it a test of minimum competence. The chapter describes item pretesting that allows for the collection of examinee responses to test items before the items are used operationally. It also explains item analysis such as assessing item difficulty, item discrimination, and differential item functioning, and describes test equating and scaling, along with test reliability, the standard errors of measurement, and test validity.