Use and evaluation of discrete test information in decision making.

Elementary decision theory is applied to the problems of evaluating discrete tests or test items used to classify people into several categories, and choosing which of several treatments is best for persons falling within each response category. The technique explicitly considers the base rates of various criterion groups and the relative seriousness of different types of errors of classification, as well as the proportion of each criterion group falling in each response category. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimum cutting scores to discriminate groups of unequal size and variance.

The accuracy with which a test classifies people, objects, or events as belonging to 1 of 2 groups depends upon distance between the means, relative variability, and relative size of the 2 groups. An analytical method is presented for determining the optimal cutting score when estimates of these parameters are available and when it can be assumed that the test scores are normally distributed for each of the 2 groups. It is shown that many situations exist in which "valid" tests cannot improve upon base-rate predictions. Tables are provided for a rapid determination of the optimal cutting score for a given condition; these tables also indicate the conditions under which base-rate predictions should be made and the proportion of erroneous decisions to be expected when the optimum strategy is used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing patients' predicted test scores from a regression equation with their obtained scores: A significance test and point estimate of abnormality with accompanying confidence limits.

In contrast to the standard use of regression, in which an individual's score on the dependent variable is unknown, neuropsychologists are often interested in comparing a predicted score with a known obtained score. Existing inferential methods use the standard error for a new case (sN+1) to provide confidence limits on a predicted score and hence are tailored to the standard usage. However, sN+1 can be used to test whether the discrepancy between a patient's predicted and obtained scores was drawn from the distribution of discrepancies in a control population. This method simultaneously provides a point estimate of the percentage of the control population that would exhibit a larger discrepancy. A method for obtaining confidence limits on this percentage is also developed. These methods can be used with existing regression equations and are particularly useful when the sample used to generate a regression equation is modest in size. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the validity of the methods, and computer programs that implement them are described and made available. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reporting employment test scores to supervisors.

A simplified percentile profile chart, designed for presenting test results to supervisors, is described and illustrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality test scores in the management hierarchy.

Scores on a brief personality test for 457 Ss classified in 5 hierarchical management categories (from I-President, V.P., etc., to V-Clerks and Factory Workers) revealed valid hierarchy trends for the traits (poor) adjustment, emotionality, detail and social dominance, and no valid trends for the traits extraversion, drive and objectivity. The criterion of validity of trend was a single classification analysis of variance of the trait scores for the five hierarchical levels giving an F-ratio significant at the .05 level or better. The independence of these trends of age, education and objectivity was also studied. For all the traits there was a substantial and normally distributed dispersion around the mean at every level of the hierarchy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality test scores in the management hierarchy: Revisited.

A678-case, 1955-1957 sample of management appraisal candidates had the same observed trends in personality test scores with hierarchy as did a 459-case, 1949-1952 sample (see 29: 3139). "Two conflicting general hypotheses regarding personality test scores in the management hierarchy are suggested. The first is that there are no strong trends except for independent achievement… . The second general hypothesis is that position in the management hierarchy is the result of a selective process whereby more intelligent people with better personalities, as defined by society, and stronger independent achievement motivation generally tend to rise higher in the hierarchy with age and experience than their colleagues less talented in these respects." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A conceptual framework for the clinical test situation.

The need to account for the adaptive behavior of the patient in the clinical test situation is discussed with respect to the relative rather than absolute nature of test responses. Adaptation-level (AL) theory is proposed as a framework of reference for adaptive behavior of the patient in the clinical situation, as well as for clinical judgment and prediction. The theory of AL possesses the relativity and operational validity required for dealing with complex clinical phenomena. Implications of the AL model for clinical theory, experimentation, and practice are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does stereotype threat affect test performance of minorities and women? A meta-analysis of experimental evidence.

A meta-analysis of stereotype threat effects was conducted and an overall mean effect size of |.26| was found, but true moderator effects existed. A series of hierarchical moderator analyses evidenced differential effects of race- versus gender-based stereotypes. Women experienced smaller performance decrements than did minorities when tests were difficult: mean ds = |.36| and |.43|, respectively. For women, subtle threat-activating cues produced the largest effect, followed by blatant and moderately explicit cues: ds = |.24|, |.18|, and |.17|, respectively; explicit threat-removal strategies were more effective in reducing stereotype threat effects than subtle ones: ds = |.14| and |.33|, respectively. For minorities, moderately explicit stereotype threat-activating cues produced the largest effect, followed by blatant and subtle cues: ds = |.64|, |.41|, and |.22|, respectively; explicit removal strategies enhanced stereotype threat effects compared with subtle strategies: ds = |.80| and |.34|, respectively. In addition, stereotype threat affected moderately math-identified women more severely than highly math-identified women: ds = |.52| and |.29|, respectively; low math-identified women suffered the least from stereotype threat: d= |.11|. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of National Merit Scholarship screening test scores to test data obtained earlier in high school.

Sundry tests given early in a pupil's high school career correlate from .40 to .78 with the National Merit Scholarship screening test in the senior year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual analysis of psychological test scores and other diagnostic variables.

For the clinician, the validity of a test or assessment technique resides in the range and structural clarity of the information it provides him about the individual client with whom he works. 2 devices, for example, might be equal in forecasting a particular criterion, yet differ widely in their personological implications. Analysis of this problem permits specification of 3 levels of evaluation: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The conceptual model defined by these levels would appear to incorporate the kind of information which the diagnostician desires, and which indeed he must have if he is to function in an insightful and fully professional manner. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reasons for choosing a correction officer career.

Correction officers represent a growing segment of the U. S. workforce, with more job openings today than there are applicants. However, there is scant scholarship on this subgroup of law enforcement personnel. In this study, 256 correction officer candidates completed a brief measure regarding their reasons for choosing a correctional career. We sought to (a) identify the reasons for choosing a correction career and determine whether these reasons differed from those identified in studies of police recruits, (b) determine whether race or gender played a role in career choice for correction officer candidates, and (c) evaluate the factor structure and psychometric validity of a scale that was previously used with police samples. Our results indicated that correction and police officer candidates diverge in terms of their reasons for seeking careers in law enforcement. Correction officer candidates placed greater importance on financial motivators, whereas police recruits indicated service as a primary factor in career choice. The scale demonstrated good initial estimates of psychometric validity, and the factor structure in the current sample differed from those found in studies with police recruits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on the inadequacy of percentage grading scales for almost all ability distributions.

This study investigated distributions of letter grades (A,B,C,D,F) assigned to test scores according to the percentages adopted by Canadian universities, assuming realistic score distributions of ten different shapes with various means and standard deviations. The grade distributions corresponding to 83 out of 90 score distributions were highly anomalous, and the remaining 7 were far from ideal. Therefore, in the majority of practical testing situations, the percentage grading method is inadequate because of purely statistical properties of a scale based on fixed percentages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of Flesch readability scores with a test of reading comprehension.

101 high school seniors, who had taken the Diagnostic Reading Test, read ten 100-word passages judged to be of equal interest but varied systematically in Reading Ease score from 5 to 95 at 10-point intervals and took brief objective-type Comprehension Tests on them. "In general, differences between mean comprehension scores for adjacent RE levels were significant at the 5% level. From these findings it is inferred the Flesch RE scores do adequately estimate the comparative difficulty in comprehension of 'popular' reading material for a 17- to 18-year-old group." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A preliminary study of a test for air traffic controllers.

Atest, employing the analogies format, was constructed from diagrams representing jet aircraft on a radar scope. Ss were air flight controllers; from their verbalized reactions to the test problems, sketches were prepared describing each S's attitudes and methods of handling the potential confrontations indicated. When these sketches were read to 3 members of the training staff of the Oberlin FAA Center, each judge made a perfect score in identifying the Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practical considerations in choosing a MANOVA test statistic: A rejoinder to Stevens.

The recommendation of the Pillai-Bartlett trace V for general use as the test statistic in multivariate ANOVA is reexamined and reaffirmed in light of criticisms by J. P. Stevens (see record 1979-25171-001). Empirical data are presented show that the V test's substantial robustness advantage does not require extreme violations of assumptions, and examples are cited to show the occurrence in practice of the type of heteroscedasticity in which the V test particularly excels and the occurrence of the pattern of population mean differences for which the V test is more powerful than its rivals. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A decision-making technique for choosing a psychology internship.

Anew method, the paired-comparison ranking technique, is proposed for assisting with internship selection decisions. This technique is discussed in terms of its ability to minimize the effects of decision frames (cf. D. Kahneman & A. Tversky, see record 1981-31998-001) as internship sites are selected. The technique is also compared with M. C. Jacob's (see record 1988-15125-001) internship decision grid. The paired-comparison ranking technique requires a greater number of choices to be made about internship sites and may require internship applicants to think more deeply about their alternatives. Specific instructions and a detailed example are provided to illustrate how to complete and interpret the paired-comparison ranking technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in perceptual, motor and reading test scores in a remedial reading group.

Two matched groups each composed of nine children with reading problems were compared on a number of perceptual, motor, and reading tests. One group was thereafter exposed to a special remedial program. On retest this group showed significant gains in reading as well as in some of the perceptual and motor areas. No similar improvement was detected in the control group denied the remedial treatment. Not all perceptual tests showed a parallel improvement with reading and the implications of this finding are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A viable method for goodness-of-fit test in maximum likelihood fit

A test statistic is proposed to perform the goodness-of-fit test in the unbinned maximum likelihood fit. Without using a detailed expression of the efficiency function, the test statistic is found to be strongly correlated with the maximum likelihood func     

A proposed framework for conducting data-based test analysis.

The authors argue that the current state of applied data-based test analytic practice is unstructured and unmethodical due in large part to the fact that there is no clearly specified, widely accepted test analytic framework for judging the performances of particular tests in particular contexts. Drawing from the extant test theory literature, they propose a rationale that may be used in data-based test analysis. The components of the proposed test analytic framework are outlined in detail, as are examples of the framework as applied to commonly encountered test evaluative scenarios. A number of potential extensions of the framework are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on alternative methods for estimating factor scores.

Factor scores may be estimated by assigning each variable (in standard score form) a weight of unity with the sign of the loading, or a weight equal to the factor loadings of the variables. In an empirical comparison based on a factorization of a battery of 104 personality measures, for six factors the correlations between factor scores estimated from unit weights and from factor-loading weights were all .9 or higher. This result could be expected from consideration of the behavior of correlation between weighted composites. "It may be concluded, then, that in most instances there is little gained by the use of fractional weights." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)