The 75 items of a mathematics placement test developed over a period of years, grouped into five item blocks by difficulty and balanced content, were arranged in a hierarchy of difficulty following the pattern recommended by Linn, Rock, and Cleary (1969). After the 25-item block-5 branching test was administered, analysis of the results supported the premise that passing (failing) certain key blocks predicted passing (failing) other easier (harder) blocks in the branching hierarchy.
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References
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