Visions of 70 years of psychometrics: the past, present, and future

Abstract

Psychometrics as a separate discipline is approximately 70 years old. Over the last 60 years, there has been an active participation of Dutch researchers in psychometrics. Ten years ago, Van der Heijden and Sijtsma [Statistica Neerlandica (1996) vol. 50, pp. 111–135] described the development of Dutch psychometrics and, as a follow up, we investigated the current state of psychometrics. This study is done through a series of interviews with 12 prominent psychometricians who participated in the International Meeting of the Psychometric Society in Tilburg from July 4 to 9, 2005. Their opinions on the past and present contributions of psychometrics, and their outlook on future developments were sought.