The Research Methods Skills Assessment (RMSA) was created to measure psychology majors' statistics knowledge and skills. The American Psychological Association's Guidelines for the Undergraduate Major in Psychology (APA, 2007, 2013) served as a framework for development. Results from a Rasch analysis with data from n = 330 undergraduates showed…

Black and Hispanic students are undeniably underidentified as gifted and underrepresented in gifted education. The underrepresentation of the two largest groups of "minority" students is long-standing, dating several decades, and is a serious area of contention. Most debates focus on the efficacy of traditional intelligence tests with…

Replications and robustness checks are key elements of the scientific method and a staple in many disciplines. However, leading journals in developmental psychology rarely include explicit replications of prior research conducted by different investigators, and few require authors to establish in their articles or online appendices that their key…

Item response theory (IRT) methods are generally used to create score scales for large-scale tests. Research has shown that IRT scales are stable across groups and over time. Most studies have focused on items that are dichotomously scored. Now Rasch and other IRT models are used to create scales for tests that include polytomously scored items.…

Empirical research on anger and hostility has pervaded the academic literature for more than 50 years. Accurate measurement of anger/hostility and subsequent interpretation of results requires that the instruments yield strong psychometric properties. For consistent measurement, reliability estimates must be calculated with each administration,…

Eight recent General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations, containing mainly free-response questions, were investigated in terms of their marking reliability. The tests of 200 randomly selected candidates from each subject were re-marked by a senior GCE examiner, and these marks were compared with the marks awarded previously as a result of…

This article illustrates the use of generalizability theory in special education to estimate the reliability of a measure when there is more than one source of error in the universe of inference and how the effects from changing the number of items and/or raters can be evaluated. (Author)

This research was an attempt to determine the usefullness of the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule with pre-adolescent and early adolescent students. Previously it has been used with outpatients, institutionalized adults, or with college students. The RAS is a thirty item schedule that was developed for measuring assertiveness. (Author/RK)

The problem engendered by the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) Test is one of instrument integrity (II). II is delimited by validity, reliability, and utility of MFF as a measure of the reflective-impulsive construct. Validity, reliability and utility of construct assessment may be improved by utilizing: (1) a prototypic scoring model that will…

Data required for evaluating a Criterion Referenced Measurement (CRM) is described with a matrix. The information within the matrix consists of the "pass-fail" decisions of two CRMs. By differentially defining these two CRMs, different concepts of reliability and validity can be examined. Indices suggested for analyzing the matrix are listed with…

A standard method for exploring item bias is the intergroup comparison of item difficulties. This paper describes a refinement and generalization of this technique. In contrast to prior approaches, the proposed method deletes outlying items from the formulation of a criterion for identifying items as deviant. It also extends the mathematical…

Informal Reading Inventories (IRI) are often recommended as instructionally relevant measures of reading. However, they have also been criticized for inattention to technical quality. Examination of reliability evidence in nine recently revised IRIs revealed that fewer than half report reliability. Several appear to have sufficient reliability for…

A work sample criterion test was developed for General Vehicle Repairman, MOS 63C30 and 63C40. Test items covered three task categories: troubleshooting, corrective action, and preventive maintenance. Thirty-eight organizational mechanics were tested at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Data were also collected on the quality of performance, for example, use…

Classification studies are important for practitioners who need to identify individuals for specialized treatment or intervention. When interventions are irreversible or misclassifications are costly, information about the proficiency of different classification procedures becomes invaluable. This study furnishes information about the relative…

A 62-item form of the sentence-completion technique requiring one-word responses was administered to 1718 undergraduates in teacher education. The data were punched on cards and lists of different responses were compiled. Responses indicating evasion, hostility, anxiety and depression were identified for each stem to form a scoring "dictionary." A…