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Presents information on a study that applied the item response theory called unfolding model to assess the quality of higher education in the U.S. Example of a characteristic curve using the unfolding model; Distribution of development scores; Primary advantage of using the model.

The effects of test consequences, response formats (multiple choice or constructed response), gender, and ethnicity were studied for the math and science sections of a high school diploma endorsement test. There was an interaction between response format and test consequences: Under both response formats, students performed better under high stakes (diploma endorsement) than under low stakes (pilot test), but the difference was larger for the constructed response items. Gender and ethnicity did not interact with test stakes; the means of all groups increased when the test had high stakes. Gender interacted with format; boys scored higher than girls on multiple-choice items, girls scored higher than boys on constructed-response items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]