The reliability and item homogeneity of personality scales are in part dependent on the content domain being sampled, and this characteristic reliability cannot be explained by item ambiguity or scale length. It is suggested that clarity of self concept is also a determinant. (Author/JKS)

In the original item factor analysis of the Adjective Check List, evidence was found for seven main factors. In this cross-validation study, five of the seven factors were replicated: social desirability, introversion/extroversion, internal discomfort, cognitive independence, and social attractiveness. Tables with factor loadings are presented.…

The test-retest reliability of one single dichotomous item is discussed. Various indices are derived for summarizing the stability of a dichotomy, based on the concept of Platonic true scores. Both open-ended and multiple choice items are considered. (Author/JKS)

Two procedures for Rasch, sample-free item calibration are reviewed and compared for accuracy. The theoretically ideal "conditional" procedure is impractical for more than fifteen items. The more practical but biased "unconditional" procedure is discussed in detail. (Author/JKS)

The interaction of subjects with test items is investigated. It is suggested that psychometricians rely too heavily on inferences about the nature of the interaction. An approach to data analysis is proposed which is more directly related to this interaction. (JKS)

This research was an attempt to determine the usefullness of the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule with pre-adolescent and early adolescent students. Previously it has been used with outpatients, institutionalized adults, or with college students. The RAS is a thirty item schedule that was developed for measuring assertiveness. (Author/RK)

Systematically investigates the effects of test context on verbal analogy item difficulty, in terms of both simple percentage correct and easiness estimates from a parameter-invariant model (Rasch, 1960). (RC)

The tasks with item and position probes seem similar. Given an item probe, a subject must recall its position in the spatial array; given a position probe, the item in that position in the array. Analysis of correct responses and latencies showed that item and position probes yielded different results. (Editor/RK)

It has long been recognized that students' performance on test questions may be affected by structural aspects of the test itself. Here, the extent to which items, placed at the end of General Certificate of Education tests, influence test taking is examined, and the effect on performance of items placed early or late is considered. (Author/RK)

Generalizability theory was used in this study of the Group Embedded Figures Test, which was administered to undergraduates in a mathematics course. Results indicated that the test has desirable psychometric characteristics, including test and item difficulty and item discrimination coefficients. (Author/GDC)

The Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) is a 145-item self-assessment inventory that provides 25 scores describing the Communication Performance, Communication Environment, Communication Strategies, and Personal Adjustment of hearing-impaired adults. Frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, item-total correlations, and…

When the parameters of item response data are estimated by a latent trait model, some variation will remain unaccounted. If baseline graphical configurations of the residual variation can be constructed, measurement irregularities may be exposed. An analytic strategy for the graphical representation and analysis of Rasch model residuals is…

The present study compares the performance of phi coefficients and tetrachorics along two dimensions of factor recovery in binary data. These dimensions are (1) accuracy of nontrivial factor identifications; and (2) factor structure recovery given a priori knowledge of the correct number of factors to rotate. (Author/LMO)

Argues that classical test theory cannot be used at the item level on "authentic" language tests. However, if the total score is derived by adding the scores of a number of different and independent parts, test reliability can be estimated. Suggests using the Classical Latent Additives model to examine test-part homogeneity. (Author/SED)

The development and validation of a revised form of the RAM Scale in Likert format are described. The RAM Scale measures student philosophical orientations in terms of relative, absolute, or mixed biases or preferences toward issues of knowledge, methods, and values. (Author/PN)