bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A COMPARISON OF STRATEGIES USED BY BLACK AND WHITE STUDENTS IN SOLVING SAT VERBAL ANALOGIES USING A THINKING ALOUD METHOD AND A MATCHED PERCENTAGE‐CORRECT DESIGN
Authors: Freedle Roy , Kostin Irene , Schwartz Laraine M. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTTwo studies are reported which investigate how Black and White examinees differ in their ability to solve analogy items. The first helps to identify three factors which affect differential ethnic performance on analogy items; the second study carried out a controlled experiment in order to investigate, via a thinking aloud paradigm, how the same three factors influenced the types of strategies that were differentially evoked for two matched groups of Black and White students.In Study 1 three variables were found to be significantly associated with ethnic examinee differences in solving analogies: the item difficulty level (easy/hard dimension), whether the item had science content or not, and whether the item used a part/whole relationship in the stem. The conclusion reached in Study 1 was that Black examinees perform differentially better than the matched White examinees on the hard analogy items (typically these had a non‐science content), and appear to systematically perform less well vis‐a‐vis the matched White examinees on the easy analogy items (which often have a science content).The results for Study 2 indicated that three strategies help to account for ethnic differences in solving analogy items:
use of an indirect or weak induction (used primarily by Black students on the hard science items; use of this strategy, especially for hard science items, helped Blacks to get more of these items correct).
use of word association in selecting a response which typically results in a wrong option being chosen (this was used more often by the Black students for all items except hard science items for which Black and White students were approximately equal in use of this strategy).
problems pronouncing the words in the item stem (Black students mispronounced some of the stem words significantly more often than White students).
Collectively these results helped to clarify some of the significant differences found between the two ethnic student groups in solving analogy items as a function of the item's characteristics. In general both studies provided evidence that item difficulty (the easy/hard dimension) was a significant factor underlying ethnic performance; the evidence showed that Black students perform better than their matched White student counterparts on the hard items and perform less well with respect to the easy items. But for Study 2 no confirming evidence was found that Black students performed less well on items involving science content, contrary to the results found in Study 1. Reasons for such differences across studies are discussed. Over and above ethnic differences, additional analyses in Study 2 uncovered differential strategy use as a function of whether analogy items contained a science or nonscience content.
TEN‐YEAR TRENDS IN SAT SCORES AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TAKING THE SAT AND PLANNING TO STUDY MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR ENGINEERING
Authors: Grandy Jerilee 
Published: September 2014

SUMMARYThis study analyzed data from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) taken by high school seniors between 1975 and 1986. Its purpose was to study trends in the numbers, test scores, and other characteristics of examinees planning to major in math, science, and engineering, and to compare these data with comparable data from examinees planning to major in other areas.The major findings were as follows:
The number of examinees planning to major in math, science, and engineering increased until 1983 and has since declined. Aerospace and electrical engineering as well as international relations showed steadily increasing interest, while interest in majoring in computer science declined 49 percent in the past three years.
Examinees planning to major in math, science, and engineering in 1986 obtained SAT Verbal scores averaging 19 points higher than the average for all examinees, although the means varied greatly depending upon the specific major field choice.
The average SAT Mathematics scores of examinees planning to major in math, science, and engineering in 1986 were 38 points higher than the average for all test takers. There is considerable variation in the math aptitudes of examinees planning to study math, science, and engineering. The highest means have been obtained consistently by those planning to major in physics. Those planning to major in agriculture, child psychology, general psychology, social psychology, sociology, law enforcement, and miscellaneous social sciences all have had averages consistently below the mean for all examinees.
Examinees intending to study pre‐medicine, classics, comparative literature, philosophy, classical languages, Chinese, Latin, Russian, education of the gifted and talented, and mathematics education had higher means than those interested in math, science, and engineering.
The Verbal and Math scores of examinees interested in computer science have declined 26 and 40 points respectively in the last ten years.
There are still more males than females interested in math, science, and engineering, and the women do not seem to be catching up with the men in terms of majoring in these fields.
Women planning to major in electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering have higher average SAT Math scores than the men interested in these fields.
Mean SAT Math scores of blacks planning to major in math, science, and engineering have risen considerably over the past decade, especially among those planning to major in mathematics or statistics.
STRENGTH OF THE ANALYTICAL FACTOR OF THE GRE GENERAL TEST IN SEVERAL SUBGROUPS: A FULL‐INFORMATION FACTOR ANALYSIS APPROACH
Authors: Schaeffer Gary A. , Kingston Neal M. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThis study examined the factor structure of the GRE General Test to appraise the extent to which an analytical factor could be identified that was distinguishable from verbal and quantitative factors. Full‐information factor analysis was employed in several groups of undergraduate majors on items from one edition of the GRE General Test. In general, three factors emerged for each group of undergraduate majors. Two of the factors were defined by verbal and quantitative items. A third factor typically had analytical reasoning items loading most heavily on it. No discernible pattern emerged regarding the relationships of the logical reasoning items and other items. The magnitudes of the intercorrelations among the verbal, quantitative, and analytical factors generally were similar across groups. Finally, the assessment of the differences among major groups was tentative and not well defined due to the extent of differences found among randomly equivalent groups of psychology majors.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR TO GENERAL KNOWLEDGE SCORES
Authors: DeMauro Gerald E. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTScores from the October 1986 and March 1987 national administrations of the NTE Test of General Knowledge were analyzed to determine if area of undergraduate major was related to performance on the four sections of the test. To control for the range of skills associated with different reasons for taking the test, self‐reported cumulative undergraduate grade point average was used as a covariate in the analyses. Results for both administrations supported the construct validity of the test. The highest scores on the literature and fine arts sections were achieved by humanities majors, social science majors achieved the highest scores on the social studies section, and natural science (including math, physical science and geological science) majors achieved the highest scores on the math and science sections.
CAUSAL INFERENCE, PATH ANALYSIS AND RECURSIVE STRUCTURAL EQUATIONS MODELS
Authors: Holland Paul W. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTRubin's model for causal inference in experiments and observational studies is enlarged to analyze the problem of “causes causing causes” and is compared to path analysis and recursive structural equations models. A special quasi‐experimental design, the encouragement design, is used to give concreteness to the discussion by focusing on the simplest problem that involves both direct and indirect causation. Rubin's model is shown to extend easily to this situation and to specify conditions under which the parameters of path analysis and recursive structural equations models have causal interpretations.
SCALE DRIFT IN ON‐LINE CALIBRATION
Authors: Stocking Martha L. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTRecent advances in psychometrics and computer technology encourage the development of model‐based methods of individualized testing on a microcomputer, where each examinee receives short tests and the number of pretest items that can be administered is severely restricted. On‐line (i.e., data is collected on operational equipment) methods for calibrating pretest items in this setting face new challenges. In the context of adaptive testing, two LOGIST‐based methods of on‐line calibration were developed and are described. These two methods are tried out and compared in a simulation study using data for the CAT‐ASVAB.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS IN MAINTAINING ADAPTIVE TEST ITEM POOLS
Authors: Stocking Martha L. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe construction of parallel editions of conventional tests for purposes of test security while maintaining score comparability has always been a recognized and difficult problem in psychometrics and test construction. The introduction of new modes of testing, e.g., adaptive testing, changes the nature of the problem but does not make it disappear. Items in adaptive test item pools may become overused and require replacement. However, in order to insure score comparability, important characteristics of the pool must remain constant. Three methods of selecting candidate new items and three methods of identifying items for replacement are developed and compared with each other and with a previous method through a simulation study.
SOME CONSEQUENCES OF THE UNCERTAINTY IN IRT LINKING PROCEDURES
Authors: Sheehan Kathleen M. , Mislevy Robert J. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTIn many practical applications of item response theory, the parameters of overlapping subsets of test items are estimated from different samples of examinees. A linking procedure is then employed to place the resulting item parameter estimates onto a common scale. It is standard practice to ignore the uncertainty associated with the linking step when drawing inferences that involve items from different subsets, a situation that arises, for example, in the measurement of change. This paper outlines how the uncertainty can be accounted for, and exemplifies the ideas with a jackknife approximation for the Stocking‐Lord linking procedure. Examples from the National Assessment of Educational Progress suggest that the resulting uncertainty will usually be negligible for inferences about individuals, but can constitute a major source of estimation error in aggregate statistics such as changes in group means.
A COMPARISON OF HISPANIC AND WHITE NON‐HISPANIC STUDENTS' OMIT PATTERNS ON THE SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST1,2
Authors: Rivera Charlene , Schmitt Alicia P. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe standardization methodology was used to analyze omitted responses of Hispanic examinees on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Results indicate that both Mexican‐Americans and Puerto Rican students omitted less than White students of comparable ability but that Mexicans Americans tended to omit even less. Examination of items with the least differential omit rate by both Hispanic groups indicate that items with true cognates or words with a common root in English and Spanish were omitted differentially less. Some dependency on ability level was observed for the omit patters of Puerto Rican examinees.
INFERRING EXAMINEE ABILITY WHEN SOME ITEM RESPONSES ARE MISSING
Authors: Mislevy Robert J. , Wu Pao‐Kuei 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe basic equations of item response theory (IRT) provide a foundation for inferring examinees' abilities and items' operating characteristics from observed responses. In practice, though, examinees will usually not have provided a response to every available item–for reasons that may or may not have been intended by the test administrator, and that may or may not be related to examinee ability. The mechanisms that produce missingness must be taken into account if correct inferences are to be drawn. Using concepts introduced by Rubin (1976), we discuss the implications for ability and item parameter estimation that are entailed by alternate test forms, targeted testing, adaptive testing, time limits, and omitted responses.
THE ROLE OF COLLATERAL INFORMATION ABOUT EXAMINEES IN ITEM PARAMETER ESTIMATION
Authors: Mislevy Robert J. , Sheehan Kathleen M. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTStandard procedures for estimating item parameters in item response theory (IRT) ignore collateral information that may be available about examinees, such as their standing on demographic and educational variables. This paper describes circumstances under which collateral information about examineesmaybe used to make inferences about item parameters more precise, and circumstances under which itmustbe used to obtain correct inferences.
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT IN INSTRUCTION
Authors: Forehand Garlie A. , Rice Myrtle W. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThis paper describes an experimental program of interactive assessment and instruction called GUIDES to Learning and Instruction. The program was designed for instruction in college level remedial and developmental programs and has been experimentally implemented in four colleges. By the use of micro‐computer administration of measurement, the program provides sustained involvement in realistic tasks, uses a variety of response formats, including free response, probes for explanations of poor performance, gives feedback and second tries, and communicates to students and instructors. The paper discusses conclusions from implementation research regarding patterns of use, validity for instruction, and roles of instructors.
UNDERSTANDING DOCUMENT LITERACY: VARIABLES UNDERLYING THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG ADULTS
Authors: Kirsch Irwin S. , Mosenthal Peter B. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to identify a set of critical variables that underlie the performance of a national sample of young adults on a diverse set of document literacy tasks. The identification of these variables provides an important first step toward building a theoretical model that would systematically account for the constructs of document processing. With such a theoretical model, document designers and instructional‐program developers could use their understanding of document‐processing constructs in ways that could strategically address the production and processing of documents.The sixty‐one tasks (and their associated documents) that make up the document scale of the NAEP Young Adult Literacy assessment were parsed using a specially devised grammar. Based upon the parsings, variables were identified to account for the probability of success for the total population and for major subgroups of interest. The variables identified accounted for 89 percent of the variance for the total population of young adults. Among racial/ethnic groups, these variables accounted for 89 percent of the variance for White, 81 percent for Black, and 87 percent for Hispanic young adults. Among levels of education, these variables accounted for 56 percent of the variance for young adults with 0–8 years of schooling, 81 percent for young adults with 9 to 12 years of schooling, 88 percent for young adults with high‐school degrees, and 84 percent for young adults with post‐high‐school degrees. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of the need to provide a more general framework for describing, comparing, and researching documents than has been the case in previous document studies.
CONFIDENCE BANDS FOR THE THREE‐PARAMETER LOGISTIC ITEM RESPONSE CURVE
Authors: Lord Frederic M. , Pashley Peter J. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTA large sample method for obtaining asymptotic simultaneous confidence bands for a three‐parameter logistic response curve is described. A procedure is given which requires as input maximum likelihood parameter estimates and an asymptotic error covariance matrix. Illustrative plots of item response curves with corresponding confidence bands are presented.
DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING A MACHINE‐SCORABLE, CONSTRAINED CONSTRUCTED‐RESPONSE ITEM
Authors: Braun Henry I. , Bennett Randy Elliot , Frye Douglas , Soloway Elliot 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe use of constructed response items in large scale standardized testing has been hampered by the costs and difficulties associated with obtaining reliable scores. The advent of expert systems may signal the eventual removal of this impediment. This study investigated the accuracy with which expert systems could score a new, non‐multiple choice item type. The item type presents a faulty solution to a computer programming problem and asks the student to correct the solution. This item type was administered to a sample of high school seniors enrolled in an Advanced Placement course in Computer Science who also took the Advanced Placement Computer Science (APCS) Test. Results indicated that the expert systems were able to produce scores for between 82% and 97% of the solutions encountered and to display high agreement with a human reader on which solutions were and were not correct. Diagnoses of the specific errors produced by students were less accurate. Correlations with scores on the objective and free‐response sections of the APCS examination were moderate. Implications for additional research and for testing practice are offered.
CONFIRMATORY ANALYSIS OF TEST STRUCTURE USING MULTIDIMENSIONAL ITEM RESPONSE THEORY
Authors: McKinley Robert 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate a confirmatory approach to assessing test structure using multidimensional item response theory (MIRT). The approach investigated involves adding to the exponent of the MIRT model an item structure matrix that allows the user to specify the ability dimensions measured by an item. Various combinations of item structures were fit to two sets of simulation data with known true structures, and the results were evaluated using a likelihood ratio chi‐square statistic and two information‐based model selection criteria. The results of these analyses support the use of the confirmatory MIRT approach, since it was found that the procedures could recover the true item structures. It was also found that adding an additional ability dimension that forces together items that ought not to be together noticeably deteriorates the quality of the solution. On the other hand, imposing structures different from, but not inconsistent with, the true structures does not necessarily yield worse fit. Finally, in terms of model fit statistics, the consistent Akaike information criterion performed better than the simple Akaike information criterion, while the likelihood ratio chi‐square was clearly inadequate.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF CONSTRAINED FREE‐RESPONSE TO MULTIPLE‐CHOICE AND OPEN‐ENDED ITEMS
Authors: Bennett Randy Elliot , Rock Donald A. , Braun Henry I. , Frye Douglas , Spohrer James C. , Soloway Elliot 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationship of a machine‐scorable, constrained free‐response computer science item that required the student to debug a faulty program to two other types of items: (1) multiple‐choice and (2) free response requiring production of a computer program. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the fit of a three‐factor model to these data and to compare the fit of this model to three alternatives. These models were fit using two random‐half samples, one given a faulty program containing one bug and the other a program with three bugs. A single‐factor model best fit the data for the sample taking the 1‐bug constrained free response and a two‐factor model fit the data for the second sample. In addition, the factor intercorrelations showed this item type to be significantly related to both the free‐response items and the multiple‐choice measures.
JAMES‐STEIN ESTIMATION
Authors: Brandwein Ann Cohen , Strawderman William E. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an expository development of James‐Stein estimation with substantial emphasis on exact results for non‐normal location models.The themes of the paper are a) that the improvement possible over the best invariant estimator via shrinkage estimation is not surprising but expected from a variety of perspectives; b) that the amount of shrinkage allowable to preserve domination over the best invariant estimator, is, when properly interpreted, relatively free from the assumption of normality; and c) the potential savings in risk are substantial when accompanied by good quality prior information.
F33O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cinnamic Acid Extraction from Ramulus Cinnamomi
Authors: Huang Xiu Xiang , Lu Jun Yu , Lai Hong Fang , Wei Lian Qiang 
Published: September 2014

AbstractA facile solid‐phase extraction (SPE) method based on bare Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) was developed to capture cinnamic acid (CA) from a well‐known traditional Chinese medicine, Ramulus cinnamomi, for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The as‐prepared Fe3O4 NPs were characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Several parameters that influence CA extraction rate, such as the amount of Fe3O4 NPs, shaking time, methanol content, eluent pH, and elution time, were investigated. The experimental results show that the CA extraction was 86.9 % at optimal condition, and the mass yield of CA extraction was found to be 0.00021 %. This study demonstrates that the developed CA extraction method is simple, cheap and environmentally friendly. Therefore, the proposed method has a potential for CA separation and purification from complex biological samples.
Mesoporous Silica MCM‐41 Supported N‐Heterocyclic Carbene‐Pd Complex for Heck and Sonogashira Coupling Reactions
Authors: Sarkar Shaheen M. , Yusoff Mashitah Mohd , Rahman Md. Lutfor 
Published: September 2014

AbstractHeterocyclic carbene‐Pd complex was anchored onto the mesoporous silica MCM‐41 which exhibits high catalytic activity in Heck reaction under phosphine free reaction conditions for the reaction of iodo/bromoarenes with olefinic compounds such as butyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate and styrene. This catalytic system also showed high activity for Sonogashira coupling reaction of various aryl halides under copper, phosphine and solvent‐free reaction conditions. The air and thermally stable catalyst were reused several times without significant loss of its activity. High efficiency of the catalyst along with its recycling ability and the rather low Pd‐loading demonstrated in both Heck and Sonogashira coupling reactions are the merits of the presented catalyst system.