Educational assessment tools are used for accountability; selection and licensure, and to measure the effects of instruction for student diagnosis and treatment. Psychometric instruments currently in use are flawed in two ways: they attempt to rank people on fundamentally multidimensional traits, and the problem of the validity of these…

THE DEVELOPMENTAL HYPOTHESIS OF THE SUBSTRATA-FACTOR THEORY WAS TESTED BY DETERMINING WHETHER SUBSTRATA FACTORS AT SUCCESSIVELY HIGHER GRADE LEVELS HAVE SYSTEMATIC CHANGES IN MAGNITUDE AND/OR ORGANIZATIONAL POSITION. A BATTERY OF TESTS WAS ADMINISTERED TO 927 STUDENTS IN GRADES 3 THROUGH 6 FROM 6 SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA. THE TESTS MEASURED MENTAL…

The current stage in an on-going research program of student learning is summarized. With two more years to run, provisional research provides the beginnings of a model of student learning which is neither static nor mechanistic. Recent research has placed emphasis on describing how students learn and how learning is affected by the academic…

As expressed in this essay, the basic aim of pedagogical research on teaching methods should be to describe existing practices and to work out theories which will allow researchers to explain the causal relationships leading to extant teaching practices, which in their own turn reinforce the existing educational pattern. Research in the area of…

The purpose of this trainer's manual is to teach drug abuse counselors: (1) the kinds of background information needed to assess a client; (2) how to interview clients to obtain the necessary information; (3) how to write up a case history; and (4) how to design individualized treatments. This trainer's manual is organized into three major…

This paper outlines a model of psychometric needs assessment developed by the author and discusses how the model, which is designed to profile key abilities and weaknesses, could be applied to the needs assessment, counseling, and training of middle and senior executives. A pilot study on 130 middle management executives is examined in conjunction…

Further research on the College Student Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSSQ) is reported herein (see TM 000 049). Item responses of two groups of university students were separately analyzed by three different factor analytic methods. Three factors consistently appeared across groups and methods: Compensation, Social Life, and Working Conditions. Two…

A compilation of 165 references dealing with short term memory, this bibliography supplements "Short-Term Memory: An Annotated Bibliography" (August 1968). The time period covered is predominantly June 1968 to June 1969. Such aspects and topics as psychometrics, motivation, human engineering, vision, auditory perception, verbal and nonverbal…

This investigation compares child language obtained with standardized tests and samples of spontaneous speech obtained in natural settings. It was hypothesized that differences would exist between social class and racial groups on the unfamiliar standard tests, but such differences would not be evident on spontaneous speech measures. Also, higher…

One of the basic problems in relating learning theories to instructional strategies is that traditionally learning theory has researched the micro unit whereas the instructional environment studies the macro unit. Traditionally, instructional strategy research and development takes the learner as he comes, an integrated organism. In learning…

A flexilevel test is found to be inferior to a peaked conventional test for measuring examinees in the middle of the ability range, superior for examinees at the extremes. Throughout the entire range of ability, a flexilevel test is much superior to any conventional test that attempts to provide accurate measurement at both extremes. See also ED…

Someone who wants to measure affect in a local setting must construct his own instrument since there are few if any such instruments available from outside sources. The Thurstone attitude test constitutes one alternative operational definition of affect which can be used to accomplish this measurement task. There is a large array of specific…

This document contains bibliographic information, descriptive terms, and abstracts for 145 technical reports on the general subject of success prediction. The bibliography includes reports on development of individuals during military training, peer evaluation, biographical inventory, and the validity of tests which may be used as predictors of…

Describes the rationale underlying computerized adaptive testing (CAT), discusses the psychometric and technical developments which make it practical, and reviews some previous work which has shaped the current state of the art. The possible advantages, constraints, and operational requirements, and possible areas of application are examined.…

An application of confirmatory factor analysis, using the LISREL program, to retrospective analysis of rating data common in health professions education was illustrated. A causal model was specified and tested. Although most measures clustered around latent traits, there was more method variance in the data set than trait variance. (Author/JAZ)