Because previous reports have suggested that the lowered validity of tests scored with empirical option weights might be explained by a capitalization of the keying procedures on omitting tendencies, a procedure was devised to key options empirically with a "correction-for-guessing" constraint. Use of the new procedure with Graduate…

Factor loadings, used directly or as the basis of binary values, are not appropriate as weights to produce component scores from a rotated solution. A series of examples showing the results of an incorrect measurement of components is given. Several correlation matrices were taken from books on factor analysis and multivariate analysis. Each…

The purpose of this project was to explore and more carefully design studies of adjective-related structures and processes as they emerge during development in children between the ages of 4 to 8, since the salient characteristics in speech at this age tend to compare and contrast objects encountered in their environments. A group of 40 black and…

The basic objective and the concepts involved in planning an effective contemporary yearbook are examined. Yearbooks are rated on the design, layout, content coverage, and other considerations. An official C.S.P.A. Scorebook is included in the document. The booklet is divided into four principal sections. Section I, The Design of the Book, lists…

A multiple-answer multiple-choice test is one which offers several alternate choices for each stem and any number of those choices may be considered to be correct. In this article, a class of scoring procedures called the binary class is discussed. (Author/JKS)

The most consistently used scoring system for the rod-and-frame task has been the total number of degrees in error from the true vertical. Since a logical case can be made for at least four alternative scoring systems, a thorough comparison of all five systems was performed. (Author/CTM)

Two multiple-choice scoring schemes--a partial credit scheme and a dichotomous approach--were compared analyzing means, variances, and reliabilities on alternate measures and student reactions. Students preferred the partial-credit approach, which is recommended if rewarding for partial knowledge is an important concern. (Editor/JT)

This module describes a method for weighting various measures of student achievement, such as examinations and home assignments, in order to combine these measures into a final grade. Standard deviation methods receive extensive attention. (TJH)

The analytical decomposition demonstrates how the effects of item characteristics, test properties, individual examinee responses, and rounding rules combine to produce the item deletion effect on the equating/scaling function and candidate scores. The empirical portion of the report illustrates the effects of item deletion on reported score…

Describes a computer formula which measures readability according to how well high school seniors comprehend reading passages. (RB)

This issue of NISE Brief discusses the weakness of the most commonly used educational outcome indicators--average and median test scores and proficiency-level indicators--and the advantages of value-added indicators. It offers a critique of the average test score as a measure of school and program performance as an example based on national data.…

The essay on the writing section of the SAT will be scored using a holistic approach. In holistic scoring, a piece of writing is considered as a total piece of work--the whole of which is greater than the sum of its parts.

A brief note presenting algebraically equivalent formulas for the variances of three error types. (Author)

Paper is concerned with the effect that ipsative scoring has upon a commonly used index of between-subtest correlation. (Author)