Performance on standardized academic aptitude tests (AAT) can determine important life outcomes. However, it is not clear whether and which aspects of the content of test questions affect performance. We examined the effect of psychological distance embedded in test questions. In Study 1 (N = 41,209), we classified the content of existing AAT…

"Tests of Aptitude for Language Learning" (TALL) is an openly accessible internet-based battery to measure the multifaceted construct of foreign language aptitude, using language domain-specific instruments and L1-sensitive instructions and stimuli. This brief report introduces the components of this theory-informed battery and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate developmental music aptitude with a broader sample in order to propose national norms. Research questions were: 1) To what extent are published Primary Measures of Music Aptitude (PMMA) norms different from those established using a current sample? 2) Are there comparative differences in PMMA item…

As educators and school leaders work towards building students' capacity throughout a student's academic career, the goal is to facilitate opportunities for students to develop college and career readiness skills that can be applied to novel and challenging problems long after high school graduation. Hess' Cognitive Rigor Matrix (HCRM) is a tool…

The purpose of this study is to generate non-verbal items for a visual reasoning test using templated-based automatic item generation (AIG). The fundamental research method involved following the three stages of template-based AIG. An item from the 2016 4th-grade entrance exam of the Science and Art Center (known as BILSEM) was chosen as the…

The "Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude" has been in use for more than three quarters of a century (Baker & Leland, 1935). Its longevity in the field speaks to its popularity as a broad measure of cognitive abilities. Its most recent iteration, in the form of the "Detroit Tests of Learning Abilities--Fifth Edition" (DTLA-5;…

Medical school selection is currently in the paradoxical situation in which selection tools may predict study outcomes, but which constructs are actually doing the predicting is unknown (the 'black box of selection'). Therefore, our research focused on those constructs, answering the question: do the internal structures of the tests in an…

This article extends the procedure outlined in the article by Raykov, Marcoulides, and Tong for testing congruence of latent constructs to the setting of binary items and clustering effects. In this widely used setting in contemporary educational and psychological research, the method can be used to examine if two or more homogeneous…

Foreign language aptitude is defined as one's potential to learn a second language. A language learner with higher aptitude is predicted to learn more, faster, and reach a higher level of proficiency. If this is the case, one way to validate the construct of aptitude and its measure is to conduct a validation study in which measures of aptitude is…

This article describes an approach to test scoring, referred to as "delta scoring" (D-scoring), for tests with dichotomously scored items. The D-scoring uses information from item response theory (IRT) calibration to facilitate computations and interpretations in the context of large-scale assessments. The D-score is computed from the…

Goldhammer (this issue) proposes an interesting approach to dealing with the speededness of item responses. Rather than modeling speed as a latent variable that varies from person to person, he proposes to use experimental conditions that are expected to fix the speed, thereby eliminating individual differences on this dimension in order to make…

The main objective of the present pilot study was to construct and standardize a Scientific Aptitude Test (SAT) for the secondary school science students (Grade 9 and 10). The test items (30 questions) were prepared by the researchers based on the five important aspects in scientific thinking such as Analogy, Scientific reasoning, Numerical…

The main challenge of ability tests relates to the difficulty of items, whereas speed tests demand that test takers complete very easy items quickly. This article proposes a conceptual framework to represent how performance depends on both between-person differences in speed and ability and the speed-ability compromise within persons. Related…

The aim of this study is to determine variance difference between maximum likelihood and expected A posteriori estimation methods viewed from number of test items of aptitude test. The variance presents an accuracy generated by both maximum likelihood and Bayes estimation methods. The test consists of three subtests, each with 40 multiple-choice…

"Above-level testing" (also called "above-grade testing," "out-of-level testing," and "off-level testing") is the practice of administering to a child a test that is designed for an examinee population that is older or in a more advanced grade. Above-level testing is frequently used to help educators design…