This paper highlights the need for a systematic, content aware, and theoretically-based approach to test design. The cognitive components approach is endorsed, and is applied to the development of a computerized perceptual speed test. Psychometric literature is reviewed and shows that: every major multi-factor theory includes a clerical/perceptual…

Intended as a resource for individuals wishing to evaluate stress management programs, this handbook, one of a series of seven, provides a collection of measuring devices that can improve the quality of such evaluations. Chapter 1 introduces the handbook's contents and outlines evaluation related issues specific to stress management programs.…

The effectiveness of 19 methods of smoothing was investigated as those methods apply to the equipercentile method of test equating. Seven methods involved smoothing the score distribution before the tests were equated (presmoothing). Seven involved smoothing the resultant points after the equating (postsmoothing). Five methods involved combining…

The models and procedures discussed in this paper are related to those presented in Bock and Aitkin (1981), where they considered the 2-parameter probit model and approximated a normally distributed prior distribution of abilities by a finite and discrete distribution. One purpose of this paper is to clarify the nature of the general EM (GEM)…

Quality of performance data yielded by subjective judgment is of major concern to researchers in performance appraisal. However, some confusion exists in the analysis of quality on ratings obtained from different rating scale formats and from different raters. To clarify this confusion, a study was conducted to assess the quality of judgmental…

This procedure for testing the mastery of programming skills uses online testing and correction. The student is presented with a test problem and is asked to solve it, encode the solution, debug the code, and save it on a floppy disk. The instructor corrects the program at the appropriate points through the use of REM statements. The erroneous or…

Measures of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery (HRNB) were factor analyzed with subtests of the Halstead Category Test (HCT) for 277 9-year-old learning disabled subjects. Eight factors with eigenvalues greater than one were rotated to a final solution that accounted for 67.9 percent of the total variance. HCT-Subtest 1 loaded…

Results of administering Piagetian tests of concrete and formal operations to 6- to 11-year-olds whose IQ's were in excess of 160 support the reality of Piaget's stage structures but suggest that the speed with which tasks within a stage are mastered is a function of intelligence in the psychometric sense. (Author/SDH)

In this paper, the diverse literature bearing on the topic of homosexuality and psychological adjustment is critically reviewed and synthesized. The first chapter discusses the most crucial methodological issue in this area, the problem of sampling. The kinds of samples used to date are critically examined, and some suggestions for improved…

The specificity doctrine, holds that psychometric tests measure nothing other than the specific bits of knowledge and learned skills reflected in the item content of the tests. This prevailing doctrine has influenced the interpretation of test scores and the conceptualization of test validity, as well as the practical use of tests in educational…

The trend towards using screening programs to facilitate early identification of developmental or learning problems has accentuated the need to establish reliable and valid screening procedures. Researchers in this area must recognize that the dichotomous decision-making function of screening (i.e., to refer or not refer a child for further…