Use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with nonzero latent means in testing six different measurement models from classical test theory is discussed. Implications of the six models for observed mean and covariance structures are described, and three examples of the use of CFA in testing the models are presented. (SLD)

Presented is a method for factoring quadratic equations that helps the teacher demonstrate how to eliminate guessing through establishment of the connection between multiplication and factoring. Included are examples that allow the student to understand the link between the algebraic and the pictorial representations of quadratic equations. (JJK)

The use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in assisting researchers to analyze decisions is discussed. The AHP is compared with other decision-analysis techniques, including multiattribute utility measurement, conjoint analysis, and general linear models. Insights that AHP can provide are illustrated with data gathered in an auditing context.…

Six methods for estimating the standard error of measurement (SEM) at specific score levels are compared by comparing score level SEM estimates from a single test administration to estimates from two test administrations, using Iowa Tests of Basic Skills data for 2,138 examinees. L. S. Feldt's method is preferred. (SLD)

Discusses the meaning of information in terms of Shannon's mathematical theory of communication and the concept of uncertainty. The uncertainty associated with the transmission of the signal is argued to have more significance for information science than the uncertainty associated with the selection of a message from a set of possible messages.…

Use of parallel analysis (PA), a selection rule for the number-of-factors problem, is investigated from the viewpoint of permutation assessment through a Monte Carlo simulation. Results reveal advantages and limitations of PA. Tables of sample eigenvalues are included. (SLD)

The nature of the attitude-behavior relation was investigated through the use of structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design involving 254 undergraduates reacting to 2 kinds of goal-directed behaviors. Results suggest that intentions, and to a lesser extent attitudes, are dependent on behavior and not the reverse. (SLD)

Studied the extent to which three appropriateness indexes, Z(sub 3), ECIZ4, and W, are well standardized in a Monte Carlo study. The ECIZ4 most closely approximated a normal distribution, and its skewness and kurtosis were more stable and less affected by test length and item response theory model than the others. (SLD)

The asymptotic posterior normality of latent variable distributions is established under very general and appropriate hypotheses, providing a probabilistic basis for assessing ability estimation/prediction accuracy in the long test case, as well as a first step in making the Dutch Identity conjecture rigorous. (SLD)

An approximation for the bias function of the maximum likelihood estimate of the latent trait or ability is developed for the general case where item responses are discrete, which includes the dichotomous response level, the graded response level, and the nominal response level. (SLD)

Structure of measures of speed was studied by conducting simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis for 1 sample of 149 elderly adults and a sample of 147 young adults using 16 measures of speed. Five first-order factors of speed were found, as hypothesized, and three second-order speed factors were necessary. (SLD)

Consumer choice of health provider plan and preference for a personal physician were studied for 1,438 elderly adults using a joint logit model (JL) and a nested logit model. Choice criteria used by senior citizens, and reasons the nested choice model explains choice behavior better than the JL are examined. (SLD)

Using an infinite item test framework, it is argued that the usual assumption of local independence should be replaced by a weaker assumption--essential independence. The usual assumption of unidimensionality is replaced by a weaker and more appropriate statistically testable assumption of essential unidimensionality. (TJH)

Describes a new method for automatic indexing and retrieval called latent semantic indexing (LSI). Problems with matching query words with document words in term-based information retrieval systems are discussed, semantic structure is examined, singular value decomposition (SVD) is explained, and the mathematics underlying the SVD model is…

To assess problems in hypothesis testing and model comparisons based on normed indices caused by latent class models with sparse contingency tables, a simulation was carried out investigating the distributions of the likelihood ratio statistic, the Pearson statistic chi-square, and a new goodness of fit statistic. (SLD)