This paper reports preliminary research into the nature of relative expertise in economic problem solving. The first section briefly describes why such research is needed in the context of research on expert and novice problem solving. It also presents the problem explored in this study in the context of the existing research. Subsequent sections…

If a student writes two essays, the score reliability can be estimated from the correlation between essays. However, if the essays are in different modes or require different skills, the reliability may be underestimated from the correlation. In Advanced Placement history examinations, students wrote one standard essay and one essay that required…

Education is a key for the economic growth and social development of developing countries. This paper presents findings of a study that analyzed how scarce resources should be allocated to the two types of secondary education--academic and vocational. Methodology involved correlation and regression analysis of World Bank data on the Gross National…

Scaling is carried out in an effort to increase the comparability of scores obtained on different tests. This study explored the relationships between College Board Achievement Test scores and potential scaling covariates for various subgroups of the test-taking population with the goal of providing several alternatives to traditionally used…

The use of two alternative item response theory (IRT) estimation models in the scaling and equating of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was explored; and item scaling and test equating results based on these models were compared with results based on the three-parameter (3PL) model currently being used with the TOEFL. Models were…

This study involves a correlation between two measures of creativity: the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and the divergent production subtests of the Structure of Intellect Learning Abilities Test (SOI-LA). A population of 263 junior high school and senior high students from Louisiana were tested with both the TTCT and the SOI-LA.…

This study examined the factor structure of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test to appraise the extent to which an analytical factor could be identified that was distinguishable from verbal and quantitative factors. Full-information factor analysis was employed in several groups of undergraduate majors on items from one edition of…

Validity generalization meta-analysis (VG) examines the extent to which the validity of an instrument can be transported across settings. VG offers correction and summarization procedures designed in part to remove the effects of statistical artifacts on estimates of association between criterion and predictor. By employing a random effects model,…

Understanding correlation coefficients is difficult for students. A free computer program that helps introductory psychology students distinguish between positive and negative correlation, and which also teaches them to understand the differences between correlation coefficients of different size is described in this paper. The program is…

Intended for classroom use only, these unpublished notes contain computer lessons on descriptive statistics with files previously created in WordPerfect 4.2 and Lotus 1-2-3 Version 1.A for the IBM PC+. The statistical measures covered include Student's t-test with two independent samples; Student's t-test with a paired sample; Chi-square analysis;…

This guide for using Minitab requires DOS version 2.0 or greater, 512K RAM memory, two double-sided diskette drives, and a graphics monitor. Topics covered in the tutorial are Getting started; Installation; Making a data diskette; Entering data; Central tendency and dispersion; t-test; Chi-square test; Oneway ANOVA test; Twoway ANOVA test; and…

A study examined the predictive validity of two methods of prior knowledge assessment: free association and prediction. Subjects, 72 sixth graders from suburban public and private schools, were divided into four groups: standard free association; standard free association plus prediction; definitional free association; and definitional free…

Noting that obesity among children is a major public health concern, this study sought to determine the relationship between the weight of mothers and weight of their offspring. Based on the literature review, the correlation between weight of mother and weight of offspring appears to be inconclusive. The subjects studied were 62 mothers and one…

Research indicates that a secure relationship with the custodial parent buffers children from some of the negative consequences of divorce. To test the hypothesis that the quality of open communication between mothers and children as well as their perceptions of acceptance and rejection moderate children's appraisals of divorce and their…

Previous work on the effects of dimensionality on parameter estimation was extended from dichotomous models to the polytomous graded response (GR) model. A multidimensional GR model was developed to generate data in one-, two-, and three-dimensions, with two- and three-dimensional conditions varying in their interdimensional associations. Test…