Examinee response times from a computerized adaptive test taken by 204 examinees taking a certification examination were analyzed using a hierarchical linear model. Two equations were posed: a within-person model and a between-person model. Variance within persons was eight times greater than variance between persons. Several variables…

As part of a study to determine whether visual and manual response systems are correlated, 26 children between 40 and 51 months of age took part in visual and manual reaction time (RT) tasks. Subjects, whose RTs had previously been tested at 3 months of age, were tested in 1 of 2 conditions. In the first condition, subjects viewed pictures only…

This paper considers the feasibility of incorporating research results from cognitive science into the modeling of performance on psychometric tests and the construction of test items. The paper focuses on the feasibility of modeling performance on a three-dimensional rotation task within the context of Item Response Theory (IRT). To test the…

The question of whether performance measures may be more accurate than examination methods to assess an individual's abilities and knowledge is examined, based on a literature review. An information processing view that focuses on the internal activities of thinking and the relationship to external stimuli is considered. Information processing…

Age-related and test-retest changes in reflection and impulsivity were investigated among preschool and school age subjects and senior adults. A study of each age group was conducted using either the Matching Familiar Figures test (MFF) or the Kansas Reflection-Impulsivity Scale for Preschoolers (KRISP). In all three studies the procedure was to…

A six-process theory of analogical reasoning was tested by administering verbal analogy items to students in grades 3 through college. The items were classified according to five verbal relations: synonyms, antonyms, functional, linear ordering, and class membership. A new method of componential analysis that does not require precueing was used to…

Fifty-five recent studies of individual differences (IDs) in elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) are reviewed. Twenty-five data sets are examined, analyzed, or reanalyzed by factor analysis. The following promising dimensions are identified: basic perceptual processes, reaction and movement times, mental comparison and recognition tasks, retrieval…

The reliability of multiple choice tests--containing different numbers of response options--was investigated for 260 students enrolled in technical college economics courses. Four test forms, constructed from previously used four-option items, were administered, consisting of (1) 60 two-option items--two distractors randomly discarded; (2) 40…

Detailed item analysis results for a form of the Scholastic Aptitude Test were examined for evidence of sex differences in test speededness. The conclusions were: (1) there was no evidence of appreciable differences in rate-of-work on any section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test; (2) there was some evidence that low-scoring females on the…

A comparison of test results on the Visual Discrimination Test was made between a group of 22 reading disabled children and 22 children who were reading on or above grade level. Both groups were of average or above-average intelligence and the two groups were matched for age and sex. The mean age was 10 years and 3 months and all the reading…

Visual and auditory stimuli were presented to children to measure symbol processing abilities. Slides which required matching the similarities in two objects in a group of three were presented. At times the matching criteria varied between function, color, and form. Reaction time was quicker when matching by color than by function, which was…

The aim of this study was to assess the length of latencies or reaction times that it took for 15 teachers and prospective teachers to judge the degree of "ethnic-nonstandardness" or "confidence-eagerness" in a child's speech. A set of 2-minute video-tapes made from interviews with six 11 and 12 year old boys from six ethno-status groups--Black…

Fifth-grade and college students in two experiments listened to tape-recorded sentences and completed tests of immediate recall. The first experiment investigated the effect of a listener's expectations upon his understanding of a sentence. Sometimes the "most probable" answer was not congruent with the "correct" answer, suggesting that the…

A project was undertaken to carry out experimental and methodological investigations on learning phenomena and psychometric methods relevant to instructional technology and computer-assisted instruction. The project's accomplishments are presented in this report, along with a listing of reports and products produced. The work of the project is…

Two experiments evaluated the effects of mnemonic training upon 5- and 10-year-old children's learning and retention of patterns at varying intervals. Subjects were 172 middle class children evenly distributed across the two age groups. Experiment I investigated the effects of individual strategies (perceptual exploration, organization of…