Constructed parallel sets of value scales, one with items expressing like and want, the other expressing ought and should. Findings from 61 college students revealed no empirical distinction between preferences and conception of the preferable. (Author/NB)

Reviews roots from which Halstead began his investigations, significance of his original collaboration with neurological surgeons, and long-term implications of his practical approach of observing brain-damaged patients in their everyday living situations to identify problems and limitations they experienced. Describes development of…

Presents precise definitions of uniform differential item functioning (DIF), unidirectional DIF, and parallel DIF. Shows that these three types of DIF are not equivalent, and discusses the theoretical relationships among them. Results demonstrate that cases of unidirectional and parallel DIF that have been considered uniform are not, in fact,…

Outlined a graded response model and applied it to an aggregated data set from four studies involving subjective items from the Quality of Life Interview (QOLI) (A. Lehman, 1988). Used the results to create customized QOLI scales. Discusses the use of this methodology for scales involving ordered, graded categories. (SLD)

Discusses the relationship between statistics and measurement for educators and test developers in particular. Using both approaches can develop linear measures and provide further analyses of the developed measures. (SLD)

Indicated excellent cross-validations with correlation of 0.99 for past formulas (J. L. Woodard and B. N. Axelrod, 1995; B. N. Axelrod et al, 1996) for estimating the Wechsler Memory Scale- Revised General Memory and Delayed Recall Indexes. Over 85% of the estimated scores were within 10 points of actual scores. Age, education, diagnosis, and IQ…

Considers what a responsible test developer would do to gain information to support the consequential basis of validity for a test early in the development. How the consequential basis of validity of the program would be monitored and reported during the life of the program is examined. The validity of the ACT Assessment is considered as if it…

Studied the degree to which equating functions failed to demonstrate population invariance across subpopulations, using two root-mean-square difference measures of the degree to which functions used to link two tests computed on subpopulations differ from the linking function for the whole population. Illustrated the ideas using data from the…

Regular testing can serve as an incentive for students to keep up with their readings, but the time and effort involved in composing and grading frequent tests can serve as an equally strong disincentive to time-strapped instructors. We describe a distorted-item (DI) test that simply requires excerpting sentences or phrases from the assigned…

In optimal assembly of tests from item banks, linear programming (LP) models have proved to be very useful. Assembly by hand has become nearly impossible, but these LP techniques are able to find the best solutions, given the demands and needs of the test to be assembled and the specifics of the item bank from which it is assembled. However,…

Issues pertaining to language and reading while developing and adapting tests are examined. Strengths and limitations associated with the use of readability formulas are discussed. Their use should be confined to paragraphs and longer passages, not items. Readability methods that consider both quantitative and qualitative variables and are…

In multilingual Asian communities, determining language dominance for clinical assessment and intervention is often complex. The aim of this study was to develop a self-report classification tool for identifying the dominant language in English-Mandarin bilinguals. Participants (N = 168) completed a questionnaire on language history and…

One way of addressing individual differences among adult learners is to identify the Multiple Intelligences of the learner. Multiple Intelligences refers to the concept developed by Howard Gardner that challenges the traditional view of intelligence and explains the presence of nine different Multiple Intelligences. The purpose of this study was…

The ever-changing requirements of working life require individuals to develop their competencies throughout their life cycle. This lifelong learning paradigm requires a renewed vision concerning assessment in which, besides formal learning, informal and non-formal learning experiences are also recognized. To support this lifelong learning…

Understanding the extent of commitment to and identification with traditional cultural experiences is essential for working with American Indian people (Whitbeck, 2006). The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a practical measure of enculturation for AI people by examining its reliability and validity within the context of…