The procedure of estimating true scores by means of a transformation of the obtained score based on the reliability coefficient is compared with the use of the obtained score without transformation. Using the mean squared error as a criterion, the transformed score is a better estimate for most examinees but poorer for those whose true scores lie…

Confidence Weighting (CW), after Ebel, and Multiple Responding (MR), after Coombs, are compared empirically to determine which improved test reliability more in the case of a course pretest derived from the final examination. It was hypothesized that MR, which purportedly measures partial knowledge, would be more effective than CW, which measures…

The present evaluation attempts to simplify the task of incorporating the affective components into an existing system of goals for the school. The two major sources used in collecting the affective goals were existing personality tests and psychological theories of personality. After compiling the affective goals, the team developed their own…

There exist special problems in testing first-grade children. Orally administered yes-no tests reduce the problems found in the other types, but they have their own drawbacks. A solution to some of these drawbacks is the use of the matched-pair scoring technique. For each "yes" item on the test there is included a "reversed" or…

Developing practical achievement tests for use at the primary-grade level is a difficult task. Some problems encountered appear to be resolved by using verbally administered yes-no tests. But such tests are criticized as having a low reliability because they offer only two choices. Two modifications of the yes-no test have been proposed to…

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the reliability of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and to measure whether this reliability is affected when subjects are from a disadvantaged group. The subjects were 25 male and 24 female 5 1/2-year-old poor Mexican-Americans. Generally, the Wechsler Preschool Scale showed high…

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…

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 testing sub-program is designed to provide the diagnostic instruments necessary to measure pupil progress through the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) curricula. Its objectives are to provide information about pupils which teachers can use to direct each child's individual learning program, to provide the measurements necessary for…

Gilman and Ferry have shown that when the student's score on a multiple choice test is the total number of responses necessary to get all items correct, substantial increases in reliability can occur. In contrast, similar procedures giving partial credit on multiple choice items have resulted in relatively small gains in reliability. The analysis…

This report is part of a general study of Reference Measures for Cognitive and Noncognitive Factors. The specific activity that is being reported is the development of "factor-referenced" tests or "marker" tests for several cognitive factors related to divergent production (i.e., ability to produce a variety of words, phrases,…

Distinction between norm referenced and criterion referenced tests are explored in relationship to underlying philosophy and intent. In considering the use of a criterion referenced test for instructional purposes, consideration is given to: specification of objectives, item content and selection, reliability, and needs assessment. (Author)

Written by an ex-Latin teacher, short-cuts to analyzing test results for the non-mathematical teacher are provided. Discussions are given of item analysis (item analysis by a show of hands, standards for test items: success, standards for test items: discrimination, and the second stage of item analysis. The standard error is then presented (the…

A pair comparison scale for measuring aesthetic judgment which could be used with four and five year old children was developed by having art experts independently judge for "aesthetic quality" color slides representing a variety of stimuli on an eleven-point successive category scale. The scale was administered to forty children on two…

Problems in assessing the validity and reliability of the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) tests of the inquiry skills of biology students are discussed by reference to the first trial version of the first Explorations in Biology (EIB) booklets. Since students learn during the two parts of the test, coefficients of stability…