For (0, 1) scored multiple-choice tests, a formula giving test reliability as a function of the number of item options is derived, assuming the "knowledge or random guessing model," the parallelism of the new and old tests (apart from the guessing probability), and the assumptions of classical test theory. It is shown that the formula is a more…

This review presents an overview of selected articles on the leniency hypothesis: the idea that students give higher evaluations to instructors who grade more leniently. Such articles comprise a small subset of the voluminous research on student evaluations of teaching (SETs). In this diverse literature, research methods and aims have frequently…

To examine the development of the philosophy of education, educators, and educationists, this parody fable tells the story of a king in a faraway land who asked the old tradesmen to teach the teachers of the kingdom how to teach young people to build houses. The children learned well from this instruction and built many fine houses for the…

The decision of whether to use essay tests or multiple choice tests depends on several qualifiers related to the different characteristics of the tests and the needs of the situation. The most important qualifier involves matching the type of test to the instructional objectives being tested, with multiple choice tests being used to measure a…

The present paper reviews the techniques commonly used to correct an observed correlation coefficient for the simultaneous influence of attenuation and range restriction effects. It is noted that the procedure which is currently in use may be somewhat biased because it treats range restriction and attenuation as independent restrictive influences.…

The findings and conclusions from research on predictive validity among markedly different groups are discussed. Empirical findings using the regression line neither support nor contradict the existence of bias or the hypothesis of differential validity. Conclusions drawn from the research are questionable. Elimination of bias in a test, contrary…

To assist the clinician or researcher in scale selection, four symposium papers discussed instruments available to measure test anxiety (TA), with special attention given to the newly-developed Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). Following an integrative summary delivered by the chairperson (DeVito), the first paper (Conetta and Tryon) reviewed the two…

In the past, several latent structure models have been proposed for handling problems associated with measuring the achievement of examinees. Typically, however, these models describe a specific examinee in terms of an item domain or they describe a few items in terms of a population of examinees. In this paper, a model is proposed which allows a…

Reading comprehension involves a number of distinctly different intellectual skills that can be assessed if the proper techniques are employed. As part of a reading assessment system, two measures of literal comprehension were developed: the Literal Comprehension Details Test (LCDT) and the Paraphrase Reading Test (PRT). Both the LCDT and the PRT…

The relatively hard problem of transforming a given set of curves to curves with the same shape can sometimes be reduced to the easier problem of rendering curves parallel. In this paper a group is associated with the given curves, and it is shown that the reduction from the hard problem to the easy problem is valid whenever the group is…

Comparisons were made among various methods of estimating the reliability of pass-fail decisions based on mastery tests. The reliability indices that are considered are p, the proportion of agreements between two estimates, and kappa, the proportion of agreements corrected for chance. Estimates of these two indices were made on the basis of…

Empirical Bayes point estimates of true score may be obtained if the distribution of observed score for a fixed examinee is approximated in one of several ways by a well-known compound binomial model. The Bayes estimates of true score may be expressed in terms of the observed score distribution and the distribution of a hypothetical binomial test.…

Eight fifth-grade children were tested in three contexts to determine the effects of adult support and regulation on their ability to read words in isolation and to read connected discourse. Findings are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. (Author/MT)

Discusses issues in reading assessment, including the concern that tests can not measure the reading process. Concludes that tests will never be more than useful indicators; calls for more research and examination of existing and new types of reading comprehension tests. (MM)

This paper discusses the basic theory underlying confidence limits and presents reasons why psychologists should incorporate confidence ranges in their psychodiagnostic reports. Four methods for establishing confidence limits are compared. Three of the methods involve estimated true scores, and the fourth is the standard error of measurement…