The Wechsler Memory Scale--Revised (D. Wechsler, 1987) and the Memory Assessment Scales (J. Williams, 1991) were administered to 30 head-injury patients, and results were compared across four dimensions of memory. Results suggest that these scales measure different abilities and are not comparable tests. (SLD)

As an alternative to equally weighted difference scores, examined an orthogonal reliable component analysis (RCA) solution and an oblique principal components analysis (PCA) solution for the standardization sample of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC; A. Kaufman and N. Kaufman, 1983). Discusses the practical implications of the…

Investigated relationship between Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB:IV) abbreviated batteries and complete battery among 38 college students. Findings suggest that school psychologists who use abbreviated versions of SB:IV with older adolescents and young adults should be aware that these short forms may underestimate students'…

Discusses the long-term estrangement of psychology and educational testing, a breach that occurred as a result of differences in the goals of experimental psychologists and correlational psychologists who studied the measurement of aptitude and ability. Discusses the development of a new field merging modern knowledge of cognition and learning and…

Inspection of the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III for four age groups from the standardization sample indicated a hierarchical arrangement of abilities when both two-factor and four-factor solutions were used. Both solutions indicated a strong general intelligence factor at all age levels studied. (SLD)

Describes the interest and concern of the membership of the Personnel Testing Council of Southern California in what may be the most critical issue in personnel testing today--the implications of using or not using g-loaded tests. Describes the events that led to the scheduling of a major conference on the g factor. Also describes audience…

Compared usefulness of Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID)-Mental Scales and Battelle Developmental Inventory (BID) in assessing abilities of infants and toddlers (n=34) from adolescent-parent families. Found that these two instruments cannot be used interchangeably and that one needs to look beyond psychometric data to understand results…

Examines limitations of standard scores of achievement tests used in diagnosing learning disabilities. Consideration of these limitations is important in deciding whether a marked discrepancy exists between ability and achievement. Recommends use of developmental standard scores over status standard scores. (Author/ABB)

This report asserts that rapid changes in many areas, such as technology and communications, marked the 20th century, the first century of ability testing. Predictions about the second century of testing seem difficult in such a context. Yet, looking back to the turn of the last century, E. Kirkpatrick (1900) in his American Psychological…

Building student abilities for taking standardized tests has certainly become an issue as testing has become increasingly important in the U.S. educational system. How much emphasis should a school or district place on educating students to do well on such tests? It is certainly possible to spend too much school time learning to take tests, and…

Links the literatures on human abilities and expertise, suggesting that human abilities are a form of developing expertise. Discusses the role of tests in a scheme that regards abilities as developing expertise and presents a model that implies a shift toward practice grounded in the development of knowledge-based expertise in all children.…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how graphical analyses can enhance the interpretation and understanding of multidimensional item-response theory (IRT) analyses. Conceptually many of the unidimensional IRT concepts such as item characteristic curves, information, etc., can be extended to multiple dimensions. However, as the…

Person fit is a statistical index that can be used as a direct measure to assess test accuracy by analyzing the response pattern of examinees and identifying those who misfit the testing model. This misfitting is a source of inaccuracy in estimating an individual's ability, and it decreases the expected criterion-related validity of the test being…

Two new methods for improving the measurement precision of a general test factor are proposed and evaluated. One new method provides a multidimensional item response theory estimate obtained from conventional administrations of multiple-choice test items that span general and nuisance dimensions. The other method chooses items adaptively to…

The Ability Explorer (AE) is a newly developed self-report inventory of abilities that is appropriate for group or individual administration. There are machine-scorable and hand-scorable versions of the test, and there are two levels. Level 1 is for students from junior high to high school, and Level 2 is for high school students and adults.…