The factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) (WISC-R) for both regular and special education populations has been well documented. Published data have also indicated that the factor structure of the WISC-R is similar across ethnic groups. With the development of the new WISC-III, comparable information is not yet…

This manual, which is designed to assist potential users of the Leader Attributes Inventory (LAI) and individuals studying leadership and its measurement, presents the rationale and psychometric characteristics of the LAI and guidelines for using it. Described in chapter 1 are the context in which the LAI was developed and the conceptualization of…

The pursuit of a science of mind has been marked by persistent conceptual tension. At one pole, exemplified by Piaget, the mind is characterized in terms of overarching principles. At the other end of the continuum, theory is more concerned with modeling particulars, as represented by the information processing model. This paper explores the…

Advocates for change in educational assessment recommend that assessments of achievement should be designed to reflect real-life performance more precisely than traditional standardized tests can. This paper raises questions about the claims that are frequently made by advocates of assessment reform. It is agreed that assessment practices are in…

Recently, there has been a significant expansion in the use of performance assessment in large scale testing programs. Although there has been significant support from curriculum and policy stakeholders, the technical feasibility of large scale performance assessments has remained a question. This report is intended to contribute to the debate by…

Making a career choice can be one of the most important decisions in a person's life. Instruments recently developed for use in career counseling have placed an increased emphasis on evaluating career-related beliefs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of "Career Beliefs Inventory" scores in…

This annual report presents six research articles on child development. The articles and their authors are: (1) "Beyond Psychological Limits: Applying Human Development in Education" (John Kirkland); (2) "Beyond Reductionism: Directions toward Understanding Children" (Frank Self); (3) "A Psychometric Examination of the…

Constructed-response formats are desired for measuring complex and dynamic response processes that require the examinee to understand the structures of problems and micro-level cognitive tasks. These micro-level tasks and their organized structures are usually unobservable. This study shows that elementary graph theory is useful for organizing…

The relationship between perceptual structure and individual differences in cognitive ability was studied through a computerized inductive reasoning task performed by 100 college undergraduates at Cleveland State University (Ohio). Measures included two psychometric tests and a set of four computerized cognitive tasks. Two components of perceptual…

Authentic measurement has become an important topic recently in educational testing. Advocates of authentic measurement feel that objective tests, multiple-choice tests in particular, cannot meet the demands required of today's tests and should be replaced by tests that can be closely matched to instruction and can assess higher-order cognitive…

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…

Undertaken at the request of the U.S. Employment Service (USES), this study assesses the validity and fairness of the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB). The U.S. Department of Labor is considering whether to promote the use of the GATB throughout the USES to screen many of the 19 million persons passing through the system annually in search of…

The kinds of life events that may affect cognitive development were explored for 777 students, mostly freshmen, enrolled in introductory social science courses at Western Washington University Bellingham (Washington). Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Measure of Epistemological Reflection (MER) of M. B. Taylor (1983). Students also…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the construct validity of the Jewish Employment and Vocational Service (JEVS) work samples. The specific objectives were: (1) to investigate the factor structure of the JEVS work samples; (2) to determine which work samples were good measures of general ability; and (3) to identify the work samples that…

In order to collect the necessary information on various practices and devices used in school climate assessment, 22 of the 39 school improvement projects mentioned in the Miles and Kaufman directory of effective schools programs were selected for a survey. A questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. Each program was asked for copies of…