The hierarchical model of van der Linden is the most popular model for responses and response times in tests. It is composed of two separate submodels--one for the responses and one for the response times--that are joined at a higher level. The submodel for the response times is based on the lognormal distribution. The lognormal distribution is a…

In his article, Paul E. Newton has conducted a review of selected perspectives on validity theory with the goal of disambiguating the definition of validity and describing a consensus definition of validity. Newton provides a nuanced discussion of the evolution of the concept of validity over the years. His Focus article has two major goals: (1)…

What is validity? A simple question but apparently one with many answers, as Paul Newton highlights in his review of the history of validity. The current definition of validity, as entertained in the 1999 "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" is indeed a consensus, one between the classical notion of attributes, and measures…

The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to subscores. First, examples of subscores from an operational test are provided. Then, a review of methods that can be used to examine if subscores have adequate psychometric quality is provided. It is demonstrated, using results from operational and simulated data, that subscores…

The notion of validity in the social sciences is evolving and is influenced by philosophy of science, critiques of objectivity, and epistemological debates. Methodology for validation of the knowledge claims is diverse across different philosophies of science. In other words, definition and the way to establish of validity have evolved as…

Paul E. Newton's "Clarifying the Consensus Definition of Validity" addresses the single most important, yet stubbornly protean, value in educational and psychological assessment. "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in…

We examined whether the General Factor of Personality (GFP) is related to the "g" factor of cognitive ability using data from the Vietnam Experience Study which randomly sampled 4462 Vietnam War veterans from a total sample of about five million Vietnam era army veterans. Exclusionary criteria included passing a fitness test, achieving a…

This paper describes the process for creating and validating an assessment test that measures the effectiveness of instruction by probing how well that instruction causes students in a class to think like experts about specific areas of science. The design principles and process are laid out and it is shown how these align with professional…

This study examined the association between female sexual offending behavioral patterns, as delineated by Sandler and Freeman's (2007) typologies, and executive functioning. The sample included all referrals for sexual offender assessments within a women's maximum/medium security prison between January 2009 and October 2009. Each subject was…

Psychological test reports are different from traditional medical reports of laboratory examinations in that they less simply report findings than they describe people in ways which are likely to lead to actions beneficial to these people. Some principles of writing test reports from this point of view are included. (Author)

The fear of fear present in agoraphobics can be broken down into a fear of the body sensations associated with the panic attacks that plague agoraphobics and maladaptive thoughts about the possible consequences of panic. In a retrospective examination of clinical files, 32 agoraphobic patients were compared to 36 patients with simple social…

The intercorrelation matrix of the ITPA subtests drawn from a population of disadvantaged children as presented by Cicirelli, et al. was analyzed by the Guttman-Lingoes SSA-I Program. The results supported two dimensions in the theoretical model suggested by the ITPA developers, the communication channel and the process level. (Author)

Using clinicians employed in Minnesota and Kansas, an attempt was made to describe and quantify clinical judgment pertaining to perceived degree of pathology associated with low scores. The results showed Minnesota judges generally regarding low scores as representing less pathology than Kansas judges. Several factors limit generalizing however.…

In the fall of 1968, 269 males and 167 females at Central Virginia Community College were administered the Holland Vocational Preference Inventory. Statistical comparisons were made scale-for-scale between these students and national normative group average scores. The comparisons of means and standard deviations were analyzed by "t"…