Standardized Ability Tests Research Articles

The construct validity of the main student selection tests for medical studies in Germany

Standardized ability tests that are associated with intelligence are often used for student selection. In Germany two different admission procedures to select students for medical studies are used simultaneously; the TMS and the HAM-Nat. Due to this simultaneous use of both a detailed analysis of the construct validity is mandatory. Therefore, the aim of the study is the construct validation of both selection procedures by using data of 4,528 participants (Mage = 20.42, SD = 2.74) who took part in a preparation study under low stakes conditions. This study compares different model specifications within the correlational structure of intelligence factors as well as analysis the g-factor consistency of the admission tests. Results reveal that all subtests are correlated substantially. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analyses demonstrate that both admission tests (and their subtests) are related to g as well as to a further test-specific-factor. Therefore, from a psychometric point of view, the simultaneous use of both student selection procedures appears to be legitimate.

The Relation of Tests of Scientific Reasoning to Each Other and to Tests of General Intelligence.

We conducted two studies to replicate and extend, as well as test, the limits of previous findings regarding an apparent disconnect between scientific-reasoning skills in psychological science, on the one hand, and scores on standardized tests of general intelligence, on the other. In Study 1, we examined whether this disconnect would extend beyond psychological science to additional sciences as well, such as nutrition and agriculture. The results did indeed extend, suggesting that scientific reasoning across various natural sciences is comparable to scientific reasoning in psychological science, but different in kind from the reasoning required on conventional standardized tests. In Study 2, we examined whether these findings were linked to the format of presentation of scientific problems. Whereas real scientific-reasoning problems are open-ended, standardized tests tend to use multiple-choice format. We discovered that using multiple-choice format did indeed result in an apparently closer relation of the scientific-reasoning tests to two of the conventional ability measures (SAT Reading and Number Series) but not to two other tests (Letter Sets and SAT Math). Thus, one can increase the correlations of scientific-reasoning tests with at least some standardized ability tests but at the cost of content validity and ecological validity.

Can we reliably measure the general factor of intelligence (g) through commercial video games? Yes, we can!

Here we show, for the very first time, that commercial video games can be used to reliably measure individual differences in general intelligence (g). One hundred and eighty eight university undergraduates took part in the study. They played twelve video games under strict supervision in the laboratory and completed eleven intelligence tests. Several factor models were tested for answering the question of whether or not video games and intelligence tests do measure the same underlying high-order latent factor. The final model revealed a very high relationship between the high-order latent factors representing video game and intelligence performance (r=.93). General performance scores derived from video games and intelligence tests showed a correlation value of .963 (R2adjusted). Therefore, performance on some video games captures a latent factor common to the variance shared by cognitive performance assessed by standard ability tests.

The Identification and Performance of Gifted Students With Learning Disability Diagnoses

Much has been written about gifted students with learning disabilities, but there have been few large-scale empirical investigations, and the concept has proven controversial. The authors reviewed the available empirical literature on these students, focusing on (a) the criteria by which the students were identified and (b) the students’ performance on standardized tests of ability and achievement. In addition, the test scores of these students were aggregated to determine typical performance levels. A total of 46 empirical articles were reviewed, and major findings included wide variability in identification criteria across studies, frequent reliance on dubious methods of learning disability identification, and a lack of academic impairment among the identified students. Implications for the “gifted/LD” category are discussed.

Measuring cognitive ability with the overclaiming technique

The overclaiming technique requires respondents to rate their familiarity with a list of general knowledge items (persons, places, things). Because 20% of the items are foils (i.e., do not exist), the response pattern can be analyzed with signal detection methods to yield the accuracy and bias scores for each respondent. In Study 1, the accuracy index showed strong associations with two standard IQ tests ( β=.50–.59). Study 2 replicated the validity of the accuracy index with IQ and showed coherent associations with school grades, peer ratings, and self-ratings. Study 3 ensured that the validity of the accuracy index is invulnerable to a warning about foils. Study 4 showed that validity is maintained even when the ratings are completed at home. The discussion focuses on the advantages of this self-report approach over standard ability tests, namely, minimal stress, lack of time limit, or need for supervision, and flexibility of content.

Small poppies: Highly gifted children in the early years

Highly gifted children are frequently placed at risk in the early years of school through misidentification, inappropriate grade‐placement and a seriously inadequate curriculum. Additional factors are their own early awareness, that they differ from their age‐peers, and their consequent attempts to conceal their ability for peer acceptance. Teachers who have had no training or inservice in gifted education, and who are reluctant to use standardized tests of ability and achievement, may rely only on gifted behaviors to identify extremely high abilities in young children. This may compound the problem by ignoring early indicators of demotivation and underachievement. The very early development of speech, movement and reading in many highly gifted young children serves as a powerful predictor of unusually high intellectual ability. Parents of the highly gifted become aware of their children's developmental differences at an early age; yet parent nomination is under‐utilized by primary and elementary schools, and information provided by parents regarding early literacy and numeracy in their children is often disregarded or actively disbelieved.

Standardized Ability Testing for Vocational Rehabilitation in Visually Impaired Adults: A Literature Review

This article reviews the past research on ability testing for adults who are visually impaired. The verbal scales of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised were found to be widely accepted as measures of verbal ability with these clients. However, relying solely on verbal assessment has its limitations, both theoretically and practically. Many attempts have been made to develop and adapt nonverbal tests for visually impaired adults. To date, none of the tests reviewed are established as reliable and valid, indicating an ongoing need for further research.

Components of analogical reasoning in a mildly head injured population

This study sought to investigate the effects of mild head injury on a particular type of cognitive ability, verbal analogical reasoning. The performance of 19 individuals with head injuries was compared to a group of 30 control subjects matched for age, education, and gender on 100 verbal analogies. Solution times and error rates were modeled. Unstandardized regression weights for individual subjects were correlated with subjects’ performance on a number of standardized ability tests. Results showed that compared to the control subjects, the head injured subjects: (a) were significantly slower to solve the analogies, and were particularly slow to perform certain processes: encoding/inference and comparison; (b) tended to show greater variability in performance; and (c) had data that had a poorer componential model fit. The data suggest that analogical reasoning is affected by a head injury, and that certain information processes may be responsible for performance deficits.

Does performance on memory for order correlate with performance on standardized measures of ability? A meta-analysis

For over a century psychologists have been interested in measures of memory for order (MFO), and the relationship of MFO with measures of general ability. The results have been many and varied; thus, a meta-analysis was performed to determine the nature and degree of such relationships. Specifically, 225 hypothesis tests relating measures of MFO with performance on standardized tests of ability were included in the meta-analysis. The combined effect size was found to be moderate and highly significant. In addition, separate meta-analyses were performed for standardized achievement and aptitude tests, partial and whole recall MFO tasks, and for each of the 11 MFO tasks included in the overall analysis. Other task and subject characteristics were coded and used to predict effect size. It was found that the relationship between partial recall and standardized achievement tests was significantly higher than other relationships involving partial and whole recall with achievement and aptitude tests. Age was not found to predict effect size in a systematic manner. Quality of the MFO task was a significant predictor of effect size.

Nonword repetition, phonological memory, and vocabulary: A reply to Snowling, Chiat, and Hulme

The opportunity taken by Snowling, Chiat, and Hulme to step into the debate concerning the nature of the relationship between nonword repetition abilities and vocabulary acquisition in young children should be welcomed. Vocabulary size is strongly associated with a range of abilities, including general intelligence scores, reading ability, reading comprehension, and school success (e.g., Anderson & Freebody, 1981) and as a consequence, vocabulary knowledge provides the major index of verbal intelligence in many standardized ability tests used with both children and adults. Given the weight attached by psychologists to vocabulary knowledge, it seems surprising that until recently the cognitive processes underpinning word learning had been largely neglected. Any progress in understanding the psychological constraints in vocabulary development, whether it takes the form of informed theoretical debate or further empirical work, should therefore be encouraged.

Componential analysis as a way to investigate age-related changes in information processing.

The purpose of this paper is to alert researchers to the methods and utility of componential analysis as a means to examine age-related changes within information processing models of cognition. This analysis allows the researcher to determine which hypothesized information processing components are significant and the amount of variance shared with the dependent variable(s). Individual differences are investigated by modeling data at the individual subject level. Unstandardized regression weights are correlated with performance on a number of standardized ability tests to determine which components contribute to which abilities. The procedure combines complementary aspects of information processing analysis and psychometric analysis. Componential analysis is illustrated in this study with data from 60 individuals, aged 20 to 79, who solved verbal forced-choice analogies of the form A:B::C: (D1 or D2). Solution time and error rate data were modeled using a regression model developed by Sternberg (1977).

The Political Economy of Testing and Opportunity Allocation

How should a society committed to the ideas of merit, the free marketplace, equality of opportunity, and fairness allocate scarce educational and employment opportunities? How should a pluralistic, democratic society make relevant and justifiable distinctions among competitors for the limited supply of high-reward educational and employment opportunities? In the United States, the test has become one of the major vehicles for determining individual merit, for assuring fairness of judgment in the assessment of merit, and for making merit-based opportunity allocation decisions. In short, the test has become the major means for answering the fundamental questions about the nature of opportunity allocation in American life.' As the present study will show, this trend toward increased dependency on tests to make distinctions among competitors is not likely to change any time soon. Moreover, as the trend toward more testing continues, we can predict that the polity's interest in the larger policy implications of increased test use will grow. This certainly will be the case for representatives of certain minority subpopulation groups, particularly African Americans, whose experience with standardized ability tests as measures of merit has left them less than enthusiastic about the long-term consequences of increased dependency on tests as a means for allocating opportunities.

Prediction of licensing examination scores in physical therapy graduates.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine which information available on applicants to the University of New Mexico physical therapy program would best predict performance on the licensing examination. The secondary purpose was to provide documentation of a procedure for selection that could be useful to other programs in other settings. American College Testing (ACT) scores, prerequisite and nonprerequisite grade point averages (GPAs), and interview and recommendation scores were used to predict licensing examination scores for the classes graduating from 1980 to 1984. Six of the regression analyses were significant, but three had similar correlations that were much higher than the rest. The variables in those three regression analyses were ACT composite score and both GPAs; ACT composite score, both GPAs, and interview score; and ACT composite score, prerequisite GPA, and interview score. The results of this study suggest that selection committees use standardized ability tests as admission criteria because the ACT scores accounted for the most variance in licensing examination scores. Other professional schools might also benefit by applying the procedures used in this study to their own data to develop prediction equations.

Sociocultural Differences in Examinees' Attitudes Toward Scholastic Ability Exams

The major aim of the present study was threefold: (a) to compare the test attitudes and perceptions o f examinees of varying sociocultural group membership toward verbal and nonverbal standardized ability tests; (b) to determine the degree of covariation between test attitudes and test scores; and (c) to delineate the properties and potential applications of a test attitude or feedback inventory specifically designed to assess examinees’ perceptions of key situational variables in the test context. The feedback inventory was administered to a sample of 259 seventh grade students in Israel immediately following standardized group scholastic ability testing procedures. On the whole, few meaningful group differences in test attitudes were observed by social class, ethnicity, or sex. However, a nonverbal test was generally rated more favorably than a verbal test, among varying sociocultural and sex subgroups. Considered together, test attitude scales share a meaningful proportion o f variance with the test score on both verbal and nonverbal tests. However, in view o f the negligible ethnic and social class differences in test attitudes and the nonsignificant interaction between test attitudes and background variables, the data provide little support for the situational bias claim

A Test of Three Models of Bias in Self-Assessment

A sample of 1508 high school boys from a national longitudinal survey of academic abilities and beliefs was used to test self-enhancement, self-consistency and stability-contingent theory. Respondents completed standardized ability tests, self-ratings of those abilities and measures of self-esteem and stability of self-esteem. Self-enhancement theory predicts that persons low, in contrast to high, in self-esteem will overrate their ability relative to the standardized measures in order to increase esteem. Self-consistency theory makes the opposite prediction: in order to avoid inconsistency and hence psychological uncertainty, people will make self-ratings that are compatible with their level of self-esteem. A third model, the stability-contingent hypothesis, was also tested. This model predicts that subjects with unstable self-esteem will show enhancement effects while those with stable levels of self-esteem will show consistency effects. Little support was found for either enhancement theory or the stability contingent hypothesis. Instead, self-consistency effects seem to be operating for all our dependent measures.

Mental ability, symbolic play and receptive and expressive language of young children with Down's syndrome.

The relationship between measures of mental ability, symbolic play and expressive and receptive language was investigated in a sample of 73 children with Down's syndrome (mean CA 48.9 months, range 19-90 months; mean MA 30.4 months, range 13-73 months). Language delay became increasingly apparent with age, and more so in boys than girls. There was no significant difference between mental ages derived from standard ability tests and corresponding age equivalent scores of the Lowe and Costello symbolic play test. A developmental progression of play similar to that seen in non-handicapped groups was found. However, it is suggested that the use of a more detailed scoring system would be informative.

Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom.

A prestudy and four experiments were conducted in order to understand the nature and use of people's implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. In the prestudy, a brief questionnaire was sent out to professors in each of the fields of art, business, philosophy, and physics, and was also given to laypersons. The questionnaire asked subjects to list behaviors characteristic of an ideally intelligent, creative, or wise person in one's field of endeavor, or in general, for laypersons. In Experiment 1, individuals from the same populations rated, on a 9-point scale, the extent to which each of the behaviors listed at least twice in the Prestudy was characteristic of an ideally intelligent, creative, or wise individual. In Experiment 2, a subset of the behaviors from the prestudy was sorted by subjects in order to yield a multidimensional space characterizing the subjects' implicit theories for each of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. In Experiment 3, subjects rated themselves on a subset of the behaviors from the prestudy, and these ratings were correlated with ideal prototype ratings to yield a measure of resemblance to the prototype. Resemblance scores were then correlated with scores on standardized ability tests. In Experiment 4, subjects rated hypothetical individuals described in simulated letters of recommendation in terms of their intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. The results revealed that people have systematic implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom, and that they use these implicit theories accurately both in evaluating themselves and in evaluating hypothetical others. Moreover, the implicit theories for each of the constructs show at least some convergent-discriminant validity with respect to each other.

A cross-cultural test of the situational bias hypothesis: The israeli scene

The major aim of this study was to test the commonly held assumption, within the Israeli educational context, that the relatively poor mean performance of disadvantaged students on conventional ability tests is due, in part, to extraneous situational factors, systematically disadvantageous to their test performance. To that end, two controlled field experiments were conducted on independent samples of n = 288 and n = 48 elementary school pupils, respectively. The first experiment centered on the interaction between sociocultural group characteristics and each of two situational factors, namely, test atmosphere and examiner status, in affecting ability test performance. The second experiment explored the effects of test atmosphere per se on the nonverbal ability test scores of disadvantaged pupils. On the whole, this research provides evidence inconsistent with the situational bias hypothesis and does not support the assumption that disadvantaged children's ability test scores can be substantially improved by manipulating test atmosphere conditions. In view of the evidence showing that situational variables do not significantly bias testing results in favor of one group over another, it follows that current educational evaluation policies in Israel, relying heavily on the standardized ability tests results of disadvantaged groups, need not be changed.

Comparison of diagnostic test scores through use of a T-score table.

T-scores can be used to compare scores from standardized tests of ability and performance, simplify determination of intra-individual discrepancy, and lead to more appropriate assessment, diagnosis, and classification. A conversion table is presented.

The Myth of Female Underachievement: A Reexamination of Sex Differences in Academic Underachievement

This paper examines sex differences in academic underachievement among students who graduated from high school in a western city in 1978. According to data gathered from students’ cumulative records for the 7th through 12th grades, males are much more likely than females to have total grade averages and grades in English and mathematics that are lower than would be predicted by their scores on standardized tests of ability. Although the highest achieving females often have lower average ability test scores than the highest achieving males, this results not from the underachievement of the brightest females but from the fact that females with a wide range of ability levels receive good grades and only the very brightest males receive high grades. These sex differences in underachievement appear for middle class and working class students, but often are smaller for the working class and in mathematics grades.