Open AccessASSESSING THE PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS: IDENTIFYING THE QUESTIONS THAT WORK BEST
Author(s) -
Powers Donald E.,
Pitcher Barbara
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
ets research report series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.235
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2330-8516
DOI - 10.1002/j.2333-8504.1992.tb01472.x
Subject(s) - psychology , test (biology) , field (mathematics) , mathematics education , core (optical fiber) , work (physics) , applied psychology , social psychology , computer science , mathematics , paleontology , pure mathematics , biology , mechanical engineering , telecommunications , engineering
An item‐level analysis was undertaken for one national administration of the Professional Knowledge test of the NTE Core Battery. The performances of several relevant subgroups of examinees defined by undergraduate major field, were compared for individual test items. Analyses revealed that a subset of test items was differentially easier for particular subgroups of examinees who had received greater exposure to teacher preparation. A smaller subset of items favored examinees having little if any such exposure. The nature of each kind of item is discussed with respect to performance expectations for various subgroups of examinees.