Educational reform priorities such as emphasis on quantitative modelling (QM) have positioned undergraduate biology instructors as designers of QM experiences to engage students in authentic science practices that support the development of data-driven and evidence-based reasoning. Yet, little is known about how biology instructors adapt to the…

The measurement of higher-order competencies within a tertiary education system across countries presents methodological challenges due to differences in educational systems, socio-economic factors, and perceptions as to which constructs should be assessed (Blömeke, Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Kuhn, & Fege, 2013). According to Hart Research…

The toal score concept is considered from the test user's point of views. The simples kind of total, obtained by adding raw scores on the tests, automatically assigns weights to the tests which are proportional to their standard deviation. When desired or appropriate, tests can be weighted equally in a total by transforming the raw scores on each…

It is shown that all obtained scores must meet the requirements for classical test-score theory with respect to definitions of true scores and errors of measurement if that frame of reference is to yield valid variance errors of measurement. (DG)

Current usage and theory of standard error of measurement calls for one standard error of measurement figure to be used across all levels of scoring. The study revealed that scoring variance across scoring levels is not constant. As scoring ability increases scoring variance decreases. The assertion that low and high scoring subjects will…

Five of the common misuses of tests are reviewed: (1) acceptance of the test title as an accurate and complete description of the variable being measured (failure to examine the manual and the items carefully to know the specific aspects to be tested can result in misuse through selection of an inappropriate test for a particular purpose or…

The MERMAC computer program is offered to the University of Wisconsin faculty for use in scoring and analyzing classroom tests. The characteristics of a good test are discussed; examples are given of the output of the MERMAC program; and the results are used to show how the quality of a test may be improved. Although the MERMAC Program is for…

Some basic statistical concepts relevant to the teacher--mean scores, standard deviation, normal and skewed distributions, z scores, item analysis, standard error of measurement, reliability--and their use by the teacher are explained. (RM)

Confirmatory multidimensional item response theory (CMIRT) was used to assess the structure of the Graduate Record Examination General Test, about which much information about factorial structure exists, using a sample of 1,001 psychology majors taking the test in 1984 or 1985. Results supported previous findings that, for this population, there…

In this comment a recent attempt by Samuel A. Livingston to develop a theory of reliability for criterion-referenced measures is critiqued. For Livingston's rejoinder see TM 500 560. (Authors/MB)

This text was written to help the reader acquire a base of knowledge about classical psychometrics and to integrate new ideas into that framework of knowledge. The material is organized into five units: (1) introduction to measurement theory; (2) reliability; (3) validity; (4) item analysis in test development; and (5) test scoring and…

The research literature provides important guidance to counselors working to keep abreast of the latest thinking regarding best practices and recently developed counseling tools. The purpose of this digest is to highlight a few errors that seem to recur within the literature, and to provide some helpful references that further explore these…

Evidence on how the psychometric properties of verbal and quantitative academic aptitude tests are affected when item options are weighted using rather simple conceptual procedures is presented. This is discussed in connection with the scoring methods used on the Graduate Record Examinations. (DG)

Clues in the answers given to the Spanish Advanced Placement Examination questions can identify the test-taker as having learned the language in the classroom or as a native speaker. The Educational Testing Service has found mechanisms to ensure that the tests are equally suited to the two groups. (MSE)