A void exists between the rapid growth of post-high school trade and technical education and the development of educational management tools for that area. Hoping to help fill this void, this research effort concentrated on the development of psychometric instruments useful in measuring achievements. Trade and technical areas involved in the study…

This collection of papers, concerned with the nature and theory of intelligence, forms part of a project to integrate test and factor theory with the empirical, functional relationships involving standard intelligence tests. The project will render more objective the use of factor analysis in personnel research. A definition of intelligence…

Some stochastic approximation procedures are considered in relation to the problem of choosing a sequence of test questions to accurately estimate a given examinee's standing on a psychological dimension. Illustrations are given evaluating certain procedures in a specific context. (Author/CK)

An attempt is made to define and measure pupil control "behavior." In order to measure pupil control behavior, an instrument called the Pupil Control Behavior (PCB) Form was developed and tested. The 31 custodial and 34 humanistic items were randomized, and the initial version of the PCB Form was administered in 20 schools in Illinois…

First grade students stratified on the basis of their racial-ethnic and socioeconomic status (SES) were studied to determine factors measured by several readiness (aptitude) tests and to learn whether these factors differed for the children from the various groups. SES was determined by father's occupation, or if absent, mother's occupation; the…

Instructional improvement within the context of criterion-referenced and norm-referenced tests is described. Such categories overemphasize test interpretation rather than design characteristics of achievement tests. Data from most measurement situations may be reported or interpreted either according to criterion- or norm-referenced standards. How…

The nature of the relations between traditional psychometric and Piagetian instruments is analyzed, in order to provide information relevant to the question of which type of test or combination of them will provide the most useful information to those seeking to construct and maintain optimal learning environments. Four hypotheses are posed: (1)…

The Navy Enlisted Scientific Education Program (NESEP) provides qualified enlisted men with an opportunity to obtain a college degree while earning a commission as an officer in the naval service. In 1965, over 250 NESEP selectees completed Strong Vocational Interest Blanks (SVIBs). For the 166 who had received commissions by 1971, the SVIB mean…

This monograph has four main objectives: (1) to define the field of ergometrics, (2) to identify some potential applications of ergometrics to problems in occupational or career education, (3) to review the relevant research literature, and (4) to suggest some conceptual approaches that might be used in conjunction with ergometric procedures.…

A study involving the construction and administration of Black and White intelligence test forms to 386 Blacks and 386 Whites indicated that Blacks did not perform significantly better on the Black test form, suggesting differences in Black special education placement rates are not affected by underrepresentation in the test development group.…

Psychometric intelligence and adaptive competence constructs were compared in five- to seven-year-old children in a rural Phillippine barrio. Individualized psychometric subtests of intelligence, indigenous with respect to content, and a form for obtaining adults' ratings of children's adaptive competencies, were developed. (Author/LMO)

Current testing standards call for test developers to provide evidence that testing procedures and test scores, and the inferences made based on the test scores, show evidence of validity and are comparable across subpopulations (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & National Council on…

Item parameter estimates vary for a variety of reasons, including estimation error, characteristics of the examinee samples, and context effects (e.g., item location effects, section location effects, etc.). Although we expect variation based on theory, there is reason to believe that observed variation in item parameter estimates exceeds what…

A study evaluated the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing Program. The comprehensive evaluation examined the background literature, the psychometric characteristics, and the impact of the writing assessment both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results indicated that: (1) the majority of fifth- and seventh-grade students in Alabama do not…

Issues in alternative assessment for accountability purposes are discussed. Most new forms of performance assessment are linked in the literature, but all alternative forms of assessment do not have the same attributes in terms of technical and feasibility criteria. Tradeoffs in the validity of inferences that can be drawn from alternative…