Performance tests are used in training evaluation to (1) certify student achievement, and (2) diagnose weaknesses in the instructional system. Proficiency measures that focus on task outcomes (product) normally provide data relevant to the first purpose, whereas measures of how the tasks are carried out (process) pertain to the second. Time or…

Nine subjects, 5 of whom claimed absolute pitch (AP) ability were instructed to rapidly strike notes on the piano to match randomized tape-recorded piano notes. Stimulus set sizes were 64, 16, or 4 consecutive semitones, or 7 diatonic notes of a designated octave. A control task involved motor movements to notes announced in advance. Accuracy,…

Several studies have shown that the elderly do not perform well on the Piagetian problems of logical thinking; the present set of studies aimed at demonstrating that the elderly maintain the competence to solve such problems. The first study performed by the authors assessed performance of 60 noninstitutionalized middle-class elderly females on…

Incentive, practice, instruction, and feedback were manipulated in a series of four 2 x 2 factorial studies, with Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets and graduate students in education, to determine the individual and combined effects of these variables on learner performance (both speed and accuracy) of an aircraft comprehension task.…

To study the effects of practice and incentive on learner performance on the aircraft instrument comprehension task, 48 third-year Air Force cadets were chosen as subjects. The subjects were expected to be able to identify which one of four pictures of aircraft in flight most nearly corresponded to the position indicated on a panel of attitude and…

Formal measuring devices used to ascertain the training success and promotion potential of maintenance personnel have been deficient in the area of job realism. In part, this may be due to reliance on paper and pencil testing rather than the use of effective job performance measurements. Data concerning job performance measurements applicable to…

A battery of criterion referenced job task performance tests (JIPT) for typical electronic maintenance activities were developed. The construction of a battery of such tests together with an appropriate scoring for reporting the results is detailed. The development of a Test Administrators Handbook also is described. This battery is considered to…

A battery of criterion referenced Job Task Performance Tests (JTPT) was developed because paper and pencil tests of job knowledge and electronic theory had very poor criterion-related or empirical validity with respect to the ability of electronic maintenance men to perform their job. Although the original JTPT required the use of actual…

The study focused on the individual attributes predictive of performance and work satisfaction in two contrasting work situations: (1) with a simple task to be perceived as low on job structural attributes (LJSA) and (2) with a more complex task designed to have a higher level of job structural attributes (HJSA). The job structural variables of…

The study integrates various elements of past approaches to job design. It focuses on determining individual characteristics associated with performance and work satisfaction on a simulated maintenance task designed to be seen as low in job structural attributes (LJSA) by one group and the same task designed to be perceived as high in job…

Applied performance tests are instruments designed to measure performance in an actual or simulated setting. The identifying difference between applied performance and other tests is the degree to which the instrument approximates the reality of the situation in which the task must be performed. A Clearinghouse for Applied Performance Testing…

Describes various performance measures used in a study to investigate the relation of performance pace to age and information processing ability. Test results indicated no differences in performance pace but differences in performance quality between young and older individuals, with implications for hiring and training older workers. (MF)

A set of procedures for validating the Army's Skill Qualification Tests (SQT) are described. Three phases are discussed: (1) the selection of tasks, (2) the selection of specific content for hands-on performance test items, and of written self-evaluation components, and (3) the establishment of content validity of the hands-on component. The task…

Ninety-two subjects solved a series of problems without enough time to finish and worked at a pace and in an order determined by the experimenter (Experimenter- Paced) or at their own pace and order under self-administered time deadlines (Self-Paced). Self-pacing resulted in superior performance on rote and poorer performance on cognitive problems…

The central theme of this report underlines the complexity and multifaceted problems surrounding any attempt to define relationships between special aptitudes and success in an occupation. However, relationships between special aptitudes and success in occupational training are typically more definitive and have a higher correlation. This is…