The assumption that examinees either know the answer to a test item or else guess at random is usually totally implausible. A different assumption is outlined, under which formula scoring is found to be clearly superior to number right scoring. (Author)

The effect of preference for content of printed material and preference for study methods on comprehension was evaluated using 8th, 9th and 10th grade students. (Author/DEP)

Features of a probabilistic testing system that has been implemented on the "cerl" PLATO computer system are described. The key feature of the system is the manner in which an examinee responds to each test item; the examinee distributes probabilities among the alternatives of each item by positioning a small square on or within an…

Two experiments were performed to study inductive reasoning as a set of thought processes that operates on the structure, as opposed to the content, of organized memory. The content of the reasoning consisted of inductions concerning the names of mammals, assumed to occupy a Euclidean space of three dimensions (size, ferocity, and humanness) in…

This study was designed to determine the accuracy with which a student in a computer-based testing situation will be able to accurately communicate the selected answer to the computer. Such a test was administered to 34 students, with the answer to each item supplied. Examinees, who were identified as touch typists or non-typists, used either the…

Four experiments were conducted to examine the effects of various processing instructions on the rate of false recognition. The continuous single-item procedure was used, and false recognitions of four types were examined: synonyms, antonyms, nonsemantic associates, and homonyms. The instructions encouraged subjects to think of associates, usages…

The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the reader with the topic of test-wiseness. The first section of this paper presents a series of multiple-choice items. The reader is asked to respond to them and is encouraged to read carefully the remainder of this paper for techniques which could improve test-taking performance. The next section defines…

Admissible probability testing is a way of administering multiple choice tests in which a student states his subjective probability that each alternative answer is correct. His response is then scored by an admissible scoring system designed so that the student will perceive that is is in his interest to report his true subjective probability.…

Subjects were divided into three groups. Group 1 took the entire Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS). Group 2 rated the individual items from the EPPS using the original definitions of social desirability and personal desirability. Group 3 rated the individual items from the EPPS using redefinitions of social and personal desirability.…

State-space representation of a problem, borrowed from mechanical problem-solving theory, is used to describe a problem's invariant structure formally. Paths within the state-space represent subjects' behaviors, as conventionally distinguished from their "protocals" or "strategies". Its goal is thus to develop the relationship…

The present study attempted to modify the latencies and errors of adult women on the Matching Familiar Figures test (MFF) by systematically altering task instructions. The results indicated that latencies of impulsive subjects could be altered with "reflective" instructions, while the latencies of reflective subjects were resistent to…

During early attempts to interpret factors represented in scores on the Gumpgookies test, an instrument designed to tap motivation to achieve in young children, the factors identified by ordinary factor-analytic techniques were found to be confounded by the subjects' response sets. This paper proposes a method for defining objectively irrelevant…

The aims of this study were (1) to explore the factor structure of the Personality Research Form (PRF) and (2) to examine the inventory's relations with response styles. In general the PRF content scales correlated moderately with each other and with measures of acquiesence, social desirability, and defensiveness response Biases. Six oblique…