Makes the case that the arguments of F. Schmidt and J. Hunter in favor of the correction for attenuation in theory testing are based on mistaken assumptions. Outlines arguments against the routine use of correction for attenuation, focusing on the relationship between true scores and construct scores. (SLD)

From a decision theoretic viewpoint, a general coefficient (delta) for tests is derived. The coefficient is applied to three kinds of decision situations. The first situation involves a true score estimated by a function of the observed score of a subject on a test (point estimation). Using the squared error loss function and Kelley's formula for…

A general coefficient for tests, delta, is derived from a decision theoretic point of view. The situations are considered in which a true score is estimated by a function of the observed score, observed scores are split into more than two categories, and observed scores are split into only two categories. (Author/CTM)

Joreskog's model of cogeneric tests is used to analyze agreement between raters. Raters are treated as measuring instruments. The model of cogeneric tests, of which classical parallelism and tau-equivalence are shown to be special cases, is applied to teachers' ratings of students' responses on open-end questions. (Author/RC)

Using a linear loss function, a procedure is described for computing a cutting score that minimizes the risk for a given decision rule. The procedure is demonstrated with a criterion-referenced achievement test of elementary statistics administered to 167 students. (Author/CTM)

For six tests, coefficient delta as an index for internal optimality is computed. Internal optimality is defined as the magnitude of risk of the decision procedure with respect to the true score. Results are compared with an alternative index (coefficient kappa) for assessing the consistency of decisions. (Author/JKS)