The Programme for International Assessment (PISA) is an important cross-national study of 15-year olds academic achievement. Although it has traditionally been conducted using paper-and-pencil tests, the vast majority of countries will use computer-based assessment from 2015. In this paper, we consider how cross-country comparisons of children's…

The idea that validity should be considered a property of inferences, rather than of assessments, has developed slowly over the past century. In early writings about the validity of educational assessments, validity was defined as a property of an assessment. The most common definition was that an assessment was valid to the extent that it…

We are concerned with the hypothesis that two variables have a perfect disattenuated correlation, hence measure the same trait except for errors of measurement. This hypothesis is equivalent to saying, within the adopted model, that true scores of two psychological tests satisfy a linear relation. A statistical test of this hypothesis is derived…

Because test scores are ordinal not cordinal attributes, the average test score often is a misleading way to summarize the scores of a group of individuals. Similarly, correlation coefficients may be misleading summary measures of association between test scores. Proper, readily interpretable, summary statistics are developed from a theory of…

The stability and change of verbal, non-verbal, and total IQ scores from group tests were investigated for students tested at Grades 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, and 11. Conclusions are discussed in detail, and the following recommendations are made: (1) Group intelligence tests should not be routinely administered in Grades 1 and 2 unless the users and…

A general method for identifying the separate components of the Rod-and-Frame Test consists of correlating theoretical patterns of scores with obtained test scores of single subjects. The correlation test calculates probability values from the test data. In this way, fit can be determined between theoretical pattern and test scores. (Author/BW)

Many models have been proposed for examining factors from several batteries of tests. A model for such an analysis is presented which allows for maintaining the distinction among batteries. A discussion of the computational procedures is given, and examples are provided. (Author/JKS)

This paper presents results of a study examining the relationship between the American Board of Surgery's In-Training Examination and its Qualifying Examination. 1982 Test scores on both examinations of 764 candidates in their fifth year of training as Chief Residents were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and standard errors were…

Samples in research on individual and group differences may be selected based on whole scores which differ from the population mean. Children are diagnosed in clinical practice with a whole score. These procedures produce regression to the population mean which can affect accuracy and adequacy of part score interpretations. (Author/DWH)

A computer program providing comprehensive test and item analysis is presented. Completing its performance on one run, the program, written in Fortran and emphasizing ease of use, integrates various statistical techniques for analyzing individual items and the overall test, in addition to generating a variety of standard scores. (Author/JKS)

The literature on a priori and empirical weighting of test items and test-item options is reviewed. While multiple regression is the best known technique for deriving fixed empirical weights for component variables (such as tests and test items), other methods allow one to derive weights which equalize the effective weights of the component…

Paper discusses the nature of the suppressor variable, constraints upon the degree of gain in predictability by the addition of a suppressor, and the distinct aims of prediction and of construct measurement. (Authors/MB)

This paper points out that there are certain generalizations about directions for guessing and methods of scoring that require that data be derived from random groups design. It supports the viewpoint that it is neither sufficient nor appropriate to make such generalizations on the basis of an analysis of scores obtained from the answer sheets of…