This is one of the outcomes of the work of the Massachusetts Evaluation Service Center for Occupational Education (ESCOE). After an overview of the Performance Test Development Project, a summary of the major products and byproducts is presented. The major products are: (1) a set of clearly defined, well-structured, and consistent behavioral…

The more the content of a language course corresponds to reality as confronted by the language learner outside the learning situation, the more this content will be favorably accepted, faithfully practiced, and learned. If "need" is defined as a state of unbalance, and answering this need is reorienting the organism by supplying the support needed…

This study determined which intellectual abilities account for IQ changes over the school year. All the Head Start subjects involved in the study (35 boys and 33 girls, mean age 44.1 months) lived in poverty under conditions of urban deterioration. The subjects were initially given the Standord-Binet Intelligence Scale in the fall and were tested…

This report analyzes a two-step program designed to achieve security in the administration of the English Comprehension Level (ECL) test given by the Defense Language Institute. Since the ECL test score is the basis for major administrative and academic decisions, there is great motivation for performing well, and student test compromise is…

An evaluation model was developed to aid the classroom instructor in more effectively teaching his course by providing him with the basic data upon which to make judgements about student abilities, course attitudes, grade distributions, test appropriateness, etc. The MERMAC system was designed so that each instructor could obtain the data in a…

Subjects ranging from preschoolers to professors were asked to choose between pairs of stimulus pseudowords, the one most like a given target word. Unidimensional scale analysis, item analysis, and factor analysis of the data resulted in the following findings: (1) Adults showed a dominant preference to "addition" errors as opposed to errors of…

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the construct validity of a standardized achievement test. The test, administered to over 5800 subjects, is one examination in a diploma program for students pursuing the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation. Results of factor and multiple discriminant analysis indicated the presence of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the practicality of multiple discriminant function analysis for deriving item response weights. Item responses on a job satisfaction questionnaire administered to 219 professional workers and 242 semi-skilled customer workers were analyzed. Discriminant functional analysis was conducted on the total…

A work sample criterion test was developed for General Vehicle Repairman, MOS 63C30 and 63C40. Test items covered three task categories: troubleshooting, corrective action, and preventive maintenance. Thirty-eight organizational mechanics were tested at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Data were also collected on the quality of performance, for example, use…

Arguments which suggest that improved prediction of multiple criteria can be achieved employing pattern scoring of responses, as opposed to conventional methods, are examined. Models for improving prediction of single and multiple criteria were examined. The findings are: (1) simple linear combinations of predictor variables perform as well…

The development of a series of parallel single-topic tests for testing attainment of 14 objectives concerned with inquiry skill in biology is discussed. The series of eight two-part tests are called "Explorations in Biology" (EIB). (CK)

The model described in this paper for the teaching of beginning shorthand through the use of computer-assisted instruction attempted to prevent incorrect responses from occurring during the acquisition of correct responses to beginning shorthand symbols. (Author)

Grounded in a review of existing theories and research on problem solving, the theoretical base and new instrument development efforts discussed in this publication have been sounded against the needs of an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum project called Unified Science and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES). It is the work on new…

This article suggests criteria for evaluating listening comprehension tests. The weaknesses of typical test items are discussed and suggestions for new types of items are given. (CFM)

A cubic spline method for smoothing equipercentile equating relationships under the common item nonequivalent populations design is described. Statistical techniques based on bootstrap estimation are presented for choosing an equating method/degree of smoothing. Smoothing decreases the estimate of random error but results in an increase in…