This paper summarizes three studies that illustrate how application of the three-parameter logistic test model helped solve three relatively intractable testing problems. The three problems are: designing a multi-purpose test, evaluating an multi-level test, and equating a test on the basis of pretest statistics. (Author/JKS)

The article examines the concept of educational self-direction in teacher education, an educational environment that encourages the use of initiative, thought, and independent judgement in learning, through consideration of relevant theory and research and empirical investigation involving the development of a questionnaire to assess educational…

The Health Waiver Test was developed for students as a means of waiving a senior high school level health education course. This article describes test revision procedures to 1981, test administration in 1981, and results of the first three years of the test. Results are presented. (DF)

Reviews test construction strategies used in the development of many current questionnaire measures of temperament and critiques these measures. Shows the selection of coefficient alpha as sole criterion for inferring unidimensionality to be insufficient, and suggests improvements for construction of temperament measures. (SKC)

Study determines that solutions derived by multiple group analysis and item-total correlation analysis were generally most interpretable from a psychological perspective. It was concluded that their application to test construction is preferred over Procrustean or confirmatory maximum likelihood approaches. (RB)

Reviewed court cases to assess implications of latest professional and legal guidelines for court deliberations regarding the criterion-related validity of tests with adverse impact. Among the findings were the heavy reliance placed on test development procedures and the reluctance of judges to accept recent reseach findings, which are…

Argues that none of the conventional methods for assessing attachment meet all criteria. Describes development of a 100-item sort for assessing secure attachment in toddlers, closely tied to Bowlby's control systems model of attachment. Evaluates the Q-sort in terms of criteria for valid thoery-based assessments that have applicability beyond this…

The author states that by neglecting to give essay tests, teachers not only eliminate the motivation to read and write but also fail to test for a deep understanding of the material. The author presents guidelines for designing essay questions. (CT)

Evaluated hopelessness, depression, and self-esteem among depressed elderly people (N=78) and developed a Geriatric Hopelessness Scale (GHS). As predicted, elderly subjects who scored high on the GHS showed significantly higher depression and lower self-esteem scores. (JAC)

Hypothesizes that children may misunderstand the task required by Piaget's test and that researchers may therefore underestimate the children's cognitive capacities. Tests the hypothesis by dividing 48 children of both sexes into two groups, those taking the standard tests and those taking a test restructured to limit ambiguity. (BE)

Teacher-made tests can be adapted for learning disabled students during the process of test construction (incorporating aspects of directions, individual items, and test design) or during test administration. (CL)

Suggests that when a students' response style is greatly skewed, the occupational scales reflect the pattern of the test construction. Correlating that pattern with students' actual profiles showed the common variance may average 35 percent when a predominance of one response reaches 60 percent. (JAC)

A model is described for generating Quick Word Tests to assess the sight recognition vocabulary of secondary students along with a high utility list of 596 words to screen automatic recognition sight vocabulary for native speakers, second language and special education students, and adults in basic education and literacy classes. (Author/CL)

Personal construct psychologists have suggested various psychological functions explain differences in the stability of constructs. Among these functions are constellatory and loose construction. This paper argues that measurement error is a more parsimonious explanation of the differences in construct stability reported in these studies. (Author)

To obtain reliable and valid measures of cognitive development in group settings, the Test of Logical Thinking, a paper-and pencil test of formal reasoning ability, was developed. It was administered to high school stuents, and alternate forms were then devised. Applications are discussed. (MNS)