Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

This paper provides a brief overview of some of the research that has examined the relationship between item response theory (IRT) and nonlinear factor analysis (NFA), and outlines three NLFA models, emphasizing their major strengths and weaknesses for practical applications. The focus is on: (1) R. McDonald's polynomial approximation of a normal ogive model (1967, 1982); (2) A. Christoffersson's (1975) and B. Muthen's (1984) factor analytic model for dichotomous variables; and (3) the full information factor analytic model (R. Bock and M. Aitken, 1981; R. Bock, R. Gibbons, and E. Muraki, 1988). Items from two Law School Admission Test (LSAT) forms were calibrated using these three models to assess the degree of comparability of the IRT parameter estimates using these procedures. Findings show that the parameter estimates tended to be quite similar, regardless of the calibration procedure. Additional research should be conducted with a larger number of LSAT forms before reaching any conclusions about the comparability of the calibration procedures. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 55 references.) (Author/SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert