This paper briefly describes unplanned and planned methods of evaluating differences between means and explains orthogonal versus nonorthogonal contrasts to help the researcher understand a framework of planned comparisons. A small heuristic data set is generated to illustrate the superiority of planned comparisons over omnibus analysis of…

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques are compared, and how to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis is reviewed. A sampling of "fit" statistics and suggestions for methods to improve models for testing are also presented. Exploratory factor analysis is used to explore data to determine the number of the nature of…

Factorial analyses differ from nonfactorial analyses in that in the former all possible hypotheses (all possible main effects and interaction effects) are tested regardless of their substantive interest to the researcher and their interpretability, while in the latter, only substantive and interpretable hypotheses are tested. This paper shows the…

With the development of tests to detect infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), it has become possible to determine its prevalence and to monitor trends in populations. Such information is valuable in designing, implementing, and monitoring public health programs for the prevention and control of HIV and the Acquired Immune Deficiency…

Controversy over the merits of Null Hypothesis Statistical Significance Testing (NHST) as a tool for advancing knowledge in the social sciences has intensified in recent years. Literature for and against the use of statistical significant tests is reviewed and three major limitations of these tests are summarized. The first is that "p"…

This keynote address begins with examples that underscore how profoundly the issues of multiculturalism and diversity impact the consciousness of society at the end of the 20th century. Changes in assessment that can lead to assessment for change in a culturally diverse society are based on the ideas that "assessment as a process must be…

This report on language testing research focuses on lessons applied to limited English proficient (LEP) students and programs. First, a review of the history of primary and non-primary language testing is provided. The question of why there is no field of primary language testing is then discussed. The second major section of the report is a…

Marijuana or Cannabis is a weed which grows in many different parts of the world. The plant may be altered into different forms to allow various forms of ingestion. Although marijuana's psychoactive properties have been known for almost 5,000 years, the plant first attracted public attention in the United States during the first half of this…

A study examined the results of an administration of a series of theoretically based prototype tests to 857 high school students in California, New York, and Wisconsin. By revising the existing framework of a prior study, tests were devised which attempted to measure three interrelated aspects of school literature: background knowledge, the…

Discusses the conflicts between the way teachers try to teach children and the way they measure what children have learned. Reprint from January 1960 "Elementary School Journal." (JMB)

A description of the aptitude-treatment interaction concept is followed by some examples of ATI studies. (Author/HB)

Paper presents two programs that were written to grade and item analyze multiple choice tests that are marked on IBM test cards. (Author)

Procedures developed by Joreskog for studying similarities and differences in factor structures between different groups were applied to data from a study by Thurstoen to investigate the sampling stability of a hypothesized isolated configuration. The hypothesis of an isolated configuration was rejected but not by much. (Author/RC)

Two research projects are reported her; one is producing a monolingual Malay dictionary, the second is developing an aphasia test for Thai speakers. (CK)