Large data sets from a state reading assessment for third and fifth graders were analyzed to examine differential item functioning (DIF), differential distractor functioning (DDF), and differential omission frequency (DOF) between students with particular categories of disabilities (speech/language impairments, learning disabilities, and emotional behavior disorders) and students without disabilities. Multinomial logistic regression was employed to compare response characteristic curves (RCCs) of individual test items. Although no evidence for serious test bias was found for the state assessment examined in this study, the results indicated that students in different disability categories showed different patterns of DIF, DDF, and DOF, and that the use of RCCs helps clarify the implications of DIF and DDF.

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This paper reports the early development of the Academic Motivations Inventory (AMI), a self-report measure of the academic motivations of college students. Content validation procedures and the reliability of items and scales suggest that AMI is at present a promising instrument for group measurement (e.g., to describe the predominant motivations of students in a course) and that it may become, through refinement of the scales, a useful tool for individual assessment.

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