The aim of this study is to contribute to the standardization of the new diagnostic tools assessing the motor manifestations of laterality in adults and children aged 8 to 10 years, both in terms of determining the theoretical concept and the selection of appropriate items, and the verification of structural hypotheses concerning the design of acceptable models, including the diagnostic quality of individual parts of the test battery. Moreover in this study we try to suggest new approach in assessing of motor laterality manifestation by means of relationship between cerebellar dominance and hand performance. The first part of this thesis deals with the concept of laterality, its manifestations and meaning in non-living systems and living organisms. As a human characteristic, laterality is manifested in a variety of functional and structural asymmetries. This part also discusses ways of diagnosing motor manifestations of laterality and the issue of cerebellar dominance, including its reflection in the form of asymmetry of the extinction physiological syndrome of upper limbs. The second part focuses on the process of the standardization study, the statistical method of structural equation modelling, and the actual design of test battery construction. The last part of this thesis presents the results...

Background: Effective testing in pre-licensure nursing programs is a challenge in nursing education. Implementing evidence-based test development is essential to successful assessment of students’ competence and preparation for licensure. Purpose: Identifying the beliefs, attitudes and values of nursing faculty will contribute to the use of best practices in student assessments, ultimately contributing to increased retention of competent students and increasing the workforce within the healthcare industry. Theoretical Framework: This study is based on Rokeach’s theory of beliefs, attitudes and values. Methods: A quantitative descriptive research methodology was used in this study using survey data collection. A purposive, non-probability, convenience sample was the sampling strategy. The instrument utilized was developed and validated in a previous study and additional researcher-developed items were added. These additional items were field tested for readability and structure by current nursing educators. Results: The results revealed that nursing faculty are not consistent with utilizing evidence-based test development practices within their nursing programs. The beliefs and attitudes identified from the data indicate a concern with the understanding and confidence towards evidence-based practices. Several challenges were identified in implementing test development practices such as addressing linguistic and cultural biases, faculty time constraints, and utilization of test banks. Conclusions: Identifying faculty beliefs, attitudes, and values of evidence-based test development practices offers insight into the challenges facing nursing faculty, nursing programs and nursing students. These challenges affect and influence the retention and persistence of nursing students in prelicensure programs which ultimately affects diversity in the nursing workforce.

The aim of this study is to contribute to the standardization of the new diagnostic tools assessing the motor manifestations of laterality in adults and children aged 8 to 10 years, both in terms of determining the theoretical concept and the selection of appropriate items, and the verification of structural hypotheses concerning the design of acceptable models, including the diagnostic quality of individual parts of the test battery. Moreover in this study we try to suggest new approach in assessing of motor laterality manifestation by means of relationship between cerebellar dominance and hand performance. The first part of this thesis deals with the concept of laterality, its manifestations and meaning in non-living systems and living organisms. As a human characteristic, laterality is manifested in a variety of functional and structural asymmetries. This part also discusses ways of diagnosing motor manifestations of laterality and the issue of cerebellar dominance, including its reflection in the form of asymmetry of the extinction physiological syndrome of upper limbs. The second part focuses on the process of the standardization study, the statistical method of structural equation modelling, and the actual design of test battery construction. The last part of this thesis presents the results...

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Response time (RT) data are able to provide unique insight into both items and examinees regarding speededness and time-demand and should be incorporated into test development practice. To allow test developers to utilize RT information, item RT needs to be summarized into point estimate(PE)(s) that can be understood by content specialists and saved into the item pool. The recent expansion of online testing in K-12 achievement assessments brings opportunities and challenges for measurement experts to investigate and utilize RT information in a context different from that in the majority of literature, in which licensing and certification tests, graduate admission tests, and other applications that incorporate computer-adaptive testing. Using empirical data from four tests in two grade levels of a K-12 standardized achievement assessment, this study explored the empirical distributions of item RT and their fit to five probability distributions, the characteristics of four item RTPEs, and the relationships between item RTPEs and eight item attributes. Based on the principal findings across tests and grades, the empirical distributions of item RT presented widely variable shapes and did not fit any of the five proposed probability distributions; the 90th quantile showed its important capability of capturing and avoiding speededness issues; and the associations between item RTPEs and item attributes proved to be mixed. The generally idiosyncratic findings of this study call for a different perspective and approach to explore RT data and call for more empirical studies to enlighten test development practice in the K-12 standardized achievement assessment field.

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of stratified item sampling in order to reduce the number of items needed in Modified Angoff standard setting studies. Representative subsets of items were extracted from a total of 30 full-length tests based upon content weights, item difficulty, and item discrimination. Cut scores obtained from various size subsets of each test were compared to the full-length test cut score as a measure of generalizability. Applied sampling results indicated that 50% of the full-length test is sufficient to obtain cut scores within one standard error of estimate (SEE) of the full-length test standard, and 70% of the full-length test is sufficient to obtain standards within one percentage point of the full-length test standard. A theoretical sampling procedure indicated that 35% of the full-length test is required to reliably obtain a standard within one SEE of the full-length standard, and 65% of the full-length test is required to fall within one percentage point. The effects of test length, panelist group size, and interrater reliability on the feasibility of stratified item sampling were also examined. However, these standard setting characteristics did not serve as significant predictors of subset generalizability in this study.

Es wird über die Entwicklung und Erprobung von Instrumenten zur Messung von Ingenieurskreativität und Fachinteresse am Studium der Elektrotechnik berichtet. Im Fall des Fachinteresses wird ein Algorithmus vorgeschlagen um effizient Skalen maßzuschneidern. Für spezifische Kreativität werden die Schwierigkeiten der Erfassung diskutiert und erste Möglichkeit der Lösung dieser Probleme diskutiert. / The development and testing of two scales measuring creativity in engineering and vocational interest is reported. Concerning the scale of vocational interest an algorithm for the efficient tailoring of such scales is proposed. In case of specific creativity the difficulties of the measurement are discussed and first solutions developed.

In response to concerns about using only standardized multiple-choice assessments, some school districts have moved to using alternative ratings of student achievement with authentic assessments. However, such assessments are often limited in terms of the psychometric validity data supporting their use. The present study mixed quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the validity, development, and refinement of an authentic rating approach currently in use in middle school mathematics classes from a large suburban school district in the Southwest United States. A sample of teachers (n = 14), rated students (n = 110) using a pilot rubric of 187 items. Analyses resulted in a 32-item rubric with 20 themes and 9 factors. Results from a G-study revealed the facet that best explained variance in student scores was the interaction between raters and assessment units, as well as students and assessment units. As part of the development of the assessment, a content validity exercise revealed 18% of the rubric items as below average quality. Findings highlight the need to enhance contextualization of rubrics, use a strategy of assessment that includes contextualized and decontextualized assessment, and to investigate the role of utilization deficiency in explaining low student scores.

Kurz nach der Jahrtausendwende führte die steigende Innovation und Komplexität von entwickelten Automotive-Systemen zum Anstieg der Anzahl von installierten elektronischen Systemen in Fahrzeugen. Dies wurde und wird noch immer durch die stetig wachsende Anzahl von rechtlichen und sicherheitstechnischen Vorgaben verstärkt. Da ein signifikanter Teil der Entwicklungskosten neuer Systeme in der Softwareentwicklung auf den im Automotive-Bereich verwendeten Steuergeräten (Electronic Control Unit, oder ECU) entsteht, wurde 2003 der AUTOSAR Developement Partnership ins Leben gerufen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist, ein einheitliches System zu realisieren, in welchem eine vom Anbieter unabhängige Testbasis für AUTOSAR-konforme Tests ermöglicht werden soll, so dass ein Begleiten des Entwicklungsprozesses möglich ist. Es sollen sich Testmodule verschiedener Art am System anmelden und schließlich einem Arbeitsfluss zur Absicherung von AUTOSAR-Steuergeräten zur Entwicklungszeit hinzugefügt werden.

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