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…

To test a hypothesis that question answering speed and accuracy can be increased by an automated shaping procedure, a film, "The Analysis of Behavior," was presented individually by a teaching machine during twice-per-week sessions to one high school student and 12 junior college students. Six of the students were informed of monetary rewards for…

Dissatisfied both with lecturing to 125 students three times a week and with the idea of having teaching assistants conduct seminars, the author devised a new method of handling his class. With administration consent, he arranged to lecture to the whole class (by then, 275 students) twice a week and to conduct 11 seminars of 25 students each.…

This study reports an attempt to improve the administration of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) by identifying and modifying aspects of the test which adversely affect disadvantaged preschoolers' performance. The resultant test was called the Modified Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (M-PPVT). Two samples from the same lower class…

A Piagetian type task, The Island Puzzle, was administered to children grades 5 to 12, to science teachers attending a National Science Teachers Association Convention, and to college physics teachers attending a regional meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers. The procedures differed from those of Piaget in that the puzzle was…

The Metropolitan Readiness tests, first published in 1948 (forms R and S), were revised in 1966 (forms A and B). This study was instigated as a result of the charge that the revisions of the tests made them more difficult and more unfair to deprived children. Thirty-six Caucasian beginning first graders (divided evenly by high and low…

The relationship between instruction and transfer was studied to determine if tests of transfer would influence evaluation of instruction differently than tests of learning of specifics. Subjects were 120 fourth graders of average intelligence. The children were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: (1) rule treatment, (2) specific…

The bibliography contains 27 abstracts and descriptive terms of documents dealing with behavior modification, diagnosis, and research into new developments. An author and subject index are included as are information for the user and cost information for the total volume or for individual documents. (JM)

To help teachers who must produce test items to measure instructional objectives, 54 teacher education candidates participated in an experiment where easily understood constraints on item production were manipulated. Four forms of a test item writing exercise sheet were randomly distributed, each asking for the production of eight sample test…

In behavioral studies of academic performance, accuracy has usually been defined as the number of items correct divided by the number of items assigned. One previous study used an alternative definition--the number of items correct divided by the number of items attempted. It is suggested here that while both measures are useful indices of…

The research literature on open education has reported various studies describing and qualifying the term "open" in education and in attitudes of teachers involved in such programs. To date, very few large scale endeavors to assess student achievement in open education have been completed. Studies which have been done have not shown the hoped for…

The report (in working draft form) of the Connecticut Task Force on Evaluation of Programs for the Gifted and Talented examines evaluation issues of product, process, and presage and provides samples of nonstandardized evaluation instruments being used in 21 local Connecticut gifted programs. Product evaluation is seen to focus on student…

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Form 2 was standardized for Digitek answer sheets. In September 1973, the Digitek scoring facility at Randolph AFB will be inadequate to handle anticipated scoring load. Consequently, ASVAB answer forms have been redesigned for processing via a Hewlett-Packard mark-sense reader from IBM card size…

The intent of this guide is to define the scope and narrow the field of study as far as possible to the aeronautical knowledge required for qualifying for the private or commercial pilot (glider) certificate. Briefly summarized are type of test items used, hints for taking the test, and certificate requirements. The study outline is the basic…

One hundred forty students (mean age 17.5 years, mean full scale IQ 69.18, and mean reading grade level 3.61), in the Diversified Occupations Programs (Vermont) were investigated to determine whether the Nonreading Aptitude Test Battery (NATB) is a valid instrument for identifying occupational aptitudes of educable mentally retarded and low…