A rating scale was developed for the evaluation of behaviors and skills required of medical students. From 400 items based on various role-defining studies, 92 were selected. The project staff randomly assigned 46 items to each of two alternate forms. Seven medical schools were identified as sites for pilot testing. Medical students who agreed to…

Educators are more interested in instruction and learning than in testing per se. If evaluation, the process of gathering information for instructional improvement, could be accomplished without the quantitative, formal processes of measurement and testing, there would be no need for them. Unfortunately, informal processes are more inefficient,…

In this issue on admissions in colleges and universities, the history of the admissions process and trends are outlined, and the current situation of declining enrollments reviewed. The place of testing is discussed briefly, and other factors in selection listed: student background (educational, extracurricular, and ethnic), and student…

With the intent of spurring discussion and raising important issues about the topic of test standards, this circular serves primarily as a resource document for member organizations of the National Consortium on Testing (NCT). Additionally, it identifies the broad changes which have evolved since 1953 regarding ethical and technical standards for…

In computer assisted test construction (CATC) systems, the computer is used to perform the mechanical aspects of testing while the teacher retains control over question content. Advantages of CATC systems include question banks, decreased importance of test item security, computer analysis and response to student test answers, item analysis…

DATA FROM THE PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION PORTION OF THE CEEB ENGLISH COMPOSITION TEST (ECT) WERE CONVERTED TO THE ORIGINAL RANK-ORDER AND WERE THEN RESCORED BY THREE SYSTEMS USING SPEARMAN'S RHO TO DETERMINE WHICH METHOD YIELDED SCORES THAT CORRELATED BEST WITH TOTAL ESSAY SCORES. TWO OF THE METHODS INVESTIGATED, ONE IN WHICH THE NUMBER OF SCORES WAS…

A SCALE TO MEASURE THE LEVEL OF OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATION (LOA) OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AS A PREDICTIVE TOOL IN FUTURE OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE IS PRESENTED AND EXTENSIVELY EVALUATED IN THIS MONOGRAPH. THE OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATION SCALE IS AN EASILY ADMINISTERED INSTRUMENT WHICH FOCUSES ON IDEALISTIC AND REALISTIC EXPRESSION LEVELS AS WELL AS ON…

A MODEL OF INQUIRY WAS DESIGNED AND A TEST WAS DEVELOPED TO SAMPLE INQUIRY BEHAVIORS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROFICIENCY ON THIS TEST AND SELECTED STUDENT BEHAVIORS AND ABILITIES WERE ANALYZED. THE TEST WAS DEVELOPED TO ASSESS INQUIRY BEHAVIORS OF SEARCHING, DATA PROCESSING, VERIFYING, DISCOVERING, ASSIMILATING, AND…

A RESEARCH AND GUIDANCE LABORATORY WAS SET UP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. THE SUBJECTS WERE SUPERIOR STUDENTS CHOSEN FROM OVER A HUNDRED WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOLS. THE STUDENTS WERE TESTED AND COUNSELED AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR FROM NINTH GRADE THROUGH GRADUATION. THE LABORATORY PERMITTED EXHAUSTIVE STUDIES ON THE CHARACTERISTICS, DEVELOPMENT, AND…

THE THEME OF THIS PROGRAM WAS THE USE OF PROBABILISTIC MODELS AS MEASUREMENT TOOLS FOR EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN IN TEST CONSTRUCTION AND FOR ANALYSIS OF TEST DATA. SOME CENTRAL ISSUES IN THIS FIELD ARE DISCUSSED AND RESOLVED IN THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS OF THE REPORT UNDER THE FOLLOWING TITLES--(1) CONTRIBUTIONS TO ITEM SELECTION, (2) CLUSTERING…

APPROXIMATELY 1,300 MENTALLY RETARDED PATIENTS WERE INVOLVED IN A STUDY ON THE ADEQUACY OF HEARING TESTS, THE INCIDENCE OF HEARING LOSS, AND STANDARDIZATION OF PROCEDURES. THE STUDY INCLUDED TEST STANDARDIZATION AND EVALUATION, HEARING SCREENING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL-SOCIAL-OTOLOGICAL EVALUATION, AND HEARING TEST DEVELOPMENT. THE SUBJECTS WHO…

The third (1978-79) of three writing assessments conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is reported. The writing achievement of American 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds was surveyed using a deeply stratified, multistage probability sample design. The specific procedures used in the assessment to develop objectives and…

This program of research has three general thrusts. First, the relations between motivation and achievement performance were studied across children of various sociocultural backgrounds including lower- and middle- class white, black, and hispanic children. Motivational test bias was found to be strong for students of all sociocultural…

In a pilot study conducted at a correctional training center, it was determined that a score of 70% or better on an informal reading inventory, based on the textbook used in a vocational shop program, was an accurate predictor of an applicant's success in the program. On the basis of the pilot study, inventories were administered to applicants for…

An explanation is given of what is meant by "sample-free" item calibration and by "item-free" person measurement as these terms are applied to the one-parameter logistic test theory model of Georg Rasch. When the difficulty of an item is calibrated separately for two different samples the results may differ; but, according the…