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The testing and measuring feature of the supervisory program carried on in the classes in the history and social-science department of the Joliet Township High School and Junior College gave rise to a discussion about effective methods of organizing the subject matter. The laboratory, or workroom, of the department contains syllabuses for each of the courses. Both American history and worldhistory have two sets of syllabuses; one set in each course provides for unit organization of the subject matter and one set for chronological organization. In an effort to determine which is the better arrangement-the unit organization or the chronological organization-experiments were set up in both these courses. This article gives an account of the experiment in American history. For a number of years American history has been given for one semester in the Senior year of the high school. In the first semester of the school year 1929-30 seven large classes were formed for this course. Two of these classes, which were taught by one teacher, were used for the experiment in American history. In one class a unit organization of subject matter (a coherent organization of subject matter about some significant event or general movement) was followed. In the other class the subject matter was taken up in chronological order. The abilities and personal traits of the pupils in the two classes used in the experiment were only loosely matched. The median percentile rank on the Otis Group Intelligence Scale, Advanced Examination, Form A, for both groups was 87.4. The range of ability represented by the pupils in the group using the unit organization was from 6.9 to 99-43. The range of ability represented in the group using the chronological order was from 16 to 99.65. The middle 50 782

The concept of emotional intelligence has received much attention in recent years. Many scientists believe that cognitive and emotional and social parts of our brain are deeply interconnected. Due to the importance role of emotional intelligence in different aspects of life, the present study was intended to investigate the relationship between Iranian high school students’ EQ level and their level of language proficiency. To achieve this goal, two types of tests were used: Nelson test, to get to the participants level of language proficiency and EQ test to get to the participants EI level. These tests were administered to 130 high school students in Gorgan, 65 students were male and 70 students were female. After homogenizing the scores the number of participants was decrease to 84. Then correlation between EQ scores and language proficiency scores were calculated by using Pearson coefficient correlation formula. The results revealed that there was reliable and meaningful relationship between language proficiency and emotional intelligence .Besides, the relationship between students’ EQ level and their level of language proficiency was stronger in females than males.

This study examined psychometric properties of the Teacher Assessment Literacy Questionnaire (TALQ) developed by Plake and Impara (1992) to measure teachers’ assessment literacy. Preservice teachers ( N = 259) enrolled in an educational measurement course in Oman completed the TALQ. Results showed that (a) the items demonstrated acceptable levels of difficulty, discrimination, reliability, and validity; (b) the TALQ measures a unitary construct of the assessment literacy; (c) the TALQ's scores had an adequate internal consistency; and (d) the TALQ's scores correlated positively with total course’ scores. Percentile ranks were extracted as norms for the raw scores. The results support the utility of the TALQ for instructional and assessment purposes.

Standardized norm data for three scales of a 19-item self-report measure on environmental spatial strategies are provided. This self-report measure comprises egocentric spatial strategies, an allocentric mental map strategy and knowledge of cardinal directions as three separate scales, “Validation of a 3-factor structure of spatial strategies and relations to possession and usage of navigational aids” (Münzer et al., 2016) [3]. The data are based on a large sample (N>4000) representative for the population in Germany. Standardized norm data for men and women in different age groups are provided through percentile ranks and T-values. Keywords: Environmental spatial strategies, Individual differences, Self-reported spatial ability, Standardized norms

A method for determining percentile ranks in a discrete population is developed. No ambiguity in going from percentile ranks to percentiles, or vice versa, occurs. As is required, the largest percentile rank is 1.00 and the smallest percentile rank is 0.00.

An interesting phenomenon occurs when the percentile rank of the sum of two scores is expressed as a function of the percentile ranks of individual scores. The article discusses their interrelationships under two separate models for the bivariate distribution.

In the contemporary normative study of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the authors recommended the use of normalized T scores so that a given T score would have an equivalent percentile rank across all clinical scales. However, the use of normalized T scores has been debated in the literature. This article presents linear transformation equations that can be used to produce non-normalized T scores similar to those traditionally used on MMPI profiles but based on data from the contemporary normative study of the MMPI. Use of these equations will facilitate comparisons between normalized and non-normalized scores.

We report a new technique for realistic assessment of laboratory performance as measured by proficiency testing. Interlaboratory results accumulated from 129 participants during 18 months provide the baseline data from which we established "state-of-the-art" performance criteria for three ranges of pH, pCO2, and pO2. By concurrent use of two statistical measurement techniques, the cumulative percentile rank and the algebraic and absolute mean error, laboratories can accurately evaluate their performance in terms of acceptable state-of-the-art criteria, total error, or medical usefulness. The approach facilitates assessment of the nature of the errors that have led to inferior performance and identification of probable areas where improvement is possible. If criteria based on regulatory standards or medical usefulness goals are included, the system can provide a basis for licensure or professional quality improvement.

This study was designed to assess the accuracy of perceived levels of body fatness as indicated by 11- and 12-year-old children. Using a rating scale ranging from 1 (extremely lean) through 9 (extremely overweight), 50 males and 50 females estimated personal levels of body fatness. Using a 2 × 2 between-and-within-groups ANOVA, these estimates were compared to individual skinfold sum percentile scores derived from comparisons with national skinfold norms. The results revealed that the females tended to overestimate personal levels of body fatness, whereas estimates given by the male subjects were interpreted as not significantly different from skinfold sum percentile scores.

The study compares scores from the WISC and PPVT given in individual administration to 406 children ages 6 to 13. Means and percentile scores on both tests were computed for each age level. The PPVT appeared to yield slightly higher IQ scores although the differences were significant only at ages eight and nine. All possible inter-correlations of the WISC subscales and the PPVT were computed. The PPVT appeared to correlate about as highly with the Performance and Verbal scales as these two scales correlate with each other. Except for averaging one to three points higher at some age levels, the PPVT appears to be quite comparable to the WISC.

A literature search located 23 evaluations of patient education programs that utilized a randomly selected control group (i.e., an experimental design) or a non- equivalent control group (i.e., a quast experimental design). Meta-analysis pro cedures were used to combine the findings of these studies The effect size for each of 102 dependent variables was derived from the mean of an experimental group and the mean and standard deviation of an untaught control group. The effect size is a z-score that can be converted into the mean percentile rank of taught pattents relative to the untaught controls The mean effect size for all studies was .74, which is equivalent to improving the average taught patient from the fiftieth to the seventy-seventh percentile relative to the untaught patient group Suggestions for improving the usefulness of patient education research design and report content are discussed

A measurement of psychological states, based on the objective content analysis of small samples of speech, has undergone thorough reliability and constructvalidation studies for individuals in the age range 17–70. The present report is a first step in the extension of this method to children ages 6–16. It has involved a descriptive analysis of the frequency of use of various verbal content categories of 109 schoolchildren, roughly stratified for grade. Percentile scores have been obtained for such content analysis scales as anxiety, hostility outward, hostility inward, ambivalent hostility, social alienation-personal disorganization, cognitive impairment, human relations, hope, and achievement strivings. Comparisons are made between these children's scores on such measures and similar scores obtained from adults. Sex differences and developmental trends are examined.

The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) is currently constructed from a sum of subtest raw scores converted to percentile scores. This paper examines advantages and disadvantages of constructing AFQT percentile scores from sums of subtest standard scores.

On alternate years from 1970 to 1981 blood pressure has been measured in school children living in Muscatine, Iowa. A total of 4313 children beginning at 5 to 14 years of age have been examined on three to six occasions. To compare blood pressures throughout the period of observation, each value was expressed as a percentile rank. For each subject the average percentile rank (level), the trend in rank, and the variability over time were calculated. Values for height, weight, relative weight, and triceps skinfold thickness were expressed in the same fashion. The relationship between average rank of blood pressure and average rank of body size as well as between trend of blood pressure and trend of body size percentiles were significant (p less than .05). These observations indicate the importance of relative rate of growth in the establishment of the rank order of blood pressure. Using the variables of level, trend, and variability, we identified groups of children who appear to be consistently tracking toward future hypertension: 233 (5.4%) children, whose systolic levels were in the upper quintile with either a flat or rising trend and low variability, and 280 (6.0%) children with systolic levels in the lower four quintiles with high trend and low variability. In addition there were 321 (7.4%) children whose mean systolic levels were in the upper quintile with high variability and who thus resemble adults with labile hypertension. There were similar numbers of children with diastolic pressures showing these features.

The Numerical Operations (NO) subtest, used in the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), has a history of causing problems for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) score scale. Two adjustments to the ASVAB score scale have been required since NO was made part of the AFQT in 1980. The purpose of this report is to present evidence that the NO subtest should be deleted from the AFQT and be replaced by the Math Knowledge (MK) subtest. Data are presented showing that the AFQT scores in 1984 were inflated by approximately 3 percentile score points.

Industrial psychology is the study of human behavior in the business, industrial, and military setting and the application of psychological principles, knowledge, and theory in these settings. There are at least six activities of the foreman in which knowledge of industrial psychology can be helpful. These are (1) selection of employees, (2) induction, or placing of employees on the job, (3) training of employees, (4) maintaining the morale of employees, (5) motivating employees, and (6) supervising employees at work. Proper handling of each is essential to successful foremanship.

Enrollment in computer science classes have grown at an alarming rate despite often inadequate university resources and a shortage of trained computer science faculty. While the number of computer science faculty. While the number of computer science majors may now be leveling off or even declining, many other disciplines are requiring students to possess computer skills. An all too high percentage of students do not possess a sufficient academic background which thereby causes a high attrition rate in computing courses. These failures represent a loss of both university and student resources.Whether choosing a selected group of students from a large number trying to enroll in a specific course or program or attempting to offer different prerequisite computer classes based on student need and aptitude, some method for predicting performance is required. This study was conducted to see what variables might be predictors of success in a first computer science course.In this study, success in the beginning course for computer science majors and minors was defined as earning a grade of C or better, while failure was considered as receiving a D, an F, or withdrawing from the course. The authors believe, from their experience, that what one instructor would evaluate as A caliber work another instructor might rate only as B performance. However, instructor agreement improves when performance is rated as acceptable (C or above) or not acceptable (D, F or withdrawal). The predictors used included success in a beginning calculus course, SAT quantitative and verbal scores, high school class percentile rank, sex of the student, quarter in which the course was taken, class status of the student, and the instructor who taught the course. The sample was 262 students enrolled in different sections of the beginning course during three different quarters 1984-85.The stepwise logistic regression model was chosen because the dependent variable was dichotomized as described above and the predictor variables were either interval or categorical. High school class percentile rank was computed by subtracting the rank of the student in his or her graduating class from the size of the graduating class, dividing this difference by the size of graduating class. This variable, then, is interval, SAT verbal and SAT quantitative scores are interval variables. Success in the beginning calculus course was defined the same way as success in the beginning computer science course was defined, with a third category added for students who had not attempted calculus. Thus, success in the beginning calculus course, sex of the student, the quarter in which the course was taken, and the instructor are categorical variables. SAT scores, the mathematics prerequisite, and sex of the student have been tested by others as predictors for success in computer science. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].The other studies noted above assume that course grades are on an equal interval scale which allowed the use of an ordinary regression model. The predictor variables in an ordinary regression model must either be continuous or have only two categories. The model used in the present study allows the stepwise technique utilized in the studies cited above for ordering predictor variables into the equation, but also allows categorical predictors to have more than two states if they are not independent.The results of this study indicate that the best predictor of success in the computer science course is success in a calculus course. This result supports the findings in other studies [2, 5]. The second best predictor found was high school class percentile rank. The only other variables that could account for variation in the dependent variable were sex of the student and class status of the student. A prior study also suggests that male students performed better in computer science courses. [2]The authors have concluded from the results that the reasoning skills necessary for success in calculus are also important for success in computer science. Another trait for success is the competitiveness of the student. This trait is measured in some degree by the high school percentile rank.

For much of the twentieth century, American education has relied heavily on large-scale, standardized ability testing; and this use of testing, as much as it can be attributed to any one set of needs, can be seen as a result of the American belief in meritocracy. Thus, testing has historically been used and supported for selection and placement decisions, assessment of school and training programs, and evaluation of educational outcomes. Within the past fifteen years, however, both testing and the testing industry have come under increasing fire. Some of this criticism, to be sure, is deserved, but much has been due to changing expectations of testing and its results as well as changing educational needs. Now, as recent developments in psychometric theory, statistics, cognitive psychology, and testing methodology converge with the availability of more sophisticated and powerful computers that are less expensive and easier to use, we are on the threshold of a technological revolution in the testing industry and can begin to meet the new expressed needs of education and training.

Vaginal photoplethysmography has been used to investigate sexual arousal response patterns in small samples of sexually functional and dysfunctional women, but selection of subjects for these studies has not been of a standardized nature. In the present study, two groups of women, who placed in either the upper or lower percentile ranks on the Sexual Arousal Inventory (Hoon et al., 1976a), were compared on a physiological measure of sexual arousal, vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA), during both waking erotic conditions and sleep. As hypothesized, no differences in VPA were found between groups during either waking or sleeping conditions. Contrary to expectation, groups also did not differ on subjective ratings of their laboratory arousal. With both groups combined, differences in VPA levels were evident between baseline and erotic conditions. Similarly, VPA levels differed between stages of sleep, with highest levels observed during rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. These findings suggest that self-reported low arousability is not based on lack of physiological response and that retrospective, self-report measures of sexual arousability differ in important ways from subjective and physiological measures of sexual arousal in the laboratory. In order to adequately assess sexual arousability, future researchers must either devise laboratory conditions that more closely resemble erotic stimuli occurring in subjects' natural environments or validate physiological measures of arousal in nonlaboratory settings. Finally, the nocturnal evaluation of VPA seems potentially useful for cases in which organic factors may be contributing to sexual dysfunction.

The primary criterion for selection of recipients of Army ROTC scholarships in an applicant's rank on an order-of-merit list based on his Whole Man Score (WMS). The WMS is a linear combination of variables believed useful as predictors of criteria such as academic success, aptitude for military science, leadership potential, and predisposition toward a military career. Four predictors are used: (1) high school class standing score; (2) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American College Test (ACT) score; (3) extracurricular, athletic, and leadership activity score; and (4) personal interview score. The predictors are assigned arbitrary weights of 3:3:3:1, respectively (TRADOC circular 145-5, 1975). This paper documents the psychometric rationale underlying the method of computing the high school class standing portion of the WMS. The method involves adjusting for class size by converting class rank to percentile rank. Percentile rank is then transformed to a normalized standard score by introducing an a priori distributional assumption. Several alternative methods for estimating missing class standing scores are compared.

Summary.-To examine the validity and sensitivity of the Test of Visual-motor Skills and the Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration, 38 students with learning disabilities were administered each test twice over a 6-rno. period. Correlations between age-equivalents, percentile ranks, and z-scores ranged from .58 to .71, supporting the construct validity of the Test of Visual-motor Skills. However, mean scores on the Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration were significantly higher with all three methods of reporting test results and do not support concurrent validity. Subjects made a significantly greater mean change in age-equivalent score on the Test of Visual-motor Skills, suggesting that this score is preferable for measuring change in children receiving remedial programs for visual-motor dysfunction. Professionals who provide services in the public schools frequently assess visual-motor development for the purposes of (1) detection of dysfunction, (2) determination of the need for remediation, (3) program planning, and (4) assessment of progress in response to intervention. Identification of children with visual-motor dysfunction and documentation of the efficacy of intervention requires a reliable and valid assessment that is sensitive to the change made by children receiving a remediation program. Two tests used to measure visual-motor development are the revised Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration by Keith Beery (1982) and the more recently constructed Test of Visual-motor SkiUs by Morrison Gardner (1986). Beery (1982) presents evidence of construct and concurrent validity of the Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration based on correlation of test scores with age, academic skill, and the Bender Visualmotor Gestalt Test. More recent studies support cross-cultural validlty (Webb & Abe, 1984; Webb, 1985) and construct validity (Breen, Carlson, & Lehman, 1985; Aylward & Schmidt, 1986; Wesson & Kispert, 1986). Gardner (1986) reports content validity for the Test of Visual-motor Skills with respect to measuring the psychological process under consideration and concurrent validity by age level with the Bender Visual-motor Gestalt Test (rs = .48 to .77) and the Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration (rs = .25 to .76). The purpose of this study was to address the construct validity, concur

New forms of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) were implemented for operational use on 1 October 1980. This report covers the calibration of the new forms based on a sample of applicants for enlistment and on a combined sample of applicants and recruits. Independent scaling efforts were conducted on samples of enlistees and of high school students. The three calibration efforts were in close agreement in the critical score region (10th through 30th percentile scores). The results indicate that the score scale for ASVAB 8/9/10 accurately tracks to the Department of Defense traditional reference population.

A method was developed and tested to analyze the efficiency of medical care using each patient's length of hospital stay (LOS) and comparing these LOS with patients with similar diagnoses, ages, and operative conditions. The method assigns a percentile score to each discharged patient's LOS in comparison with the group of patients in the referent population with the same medical condition. A percentile score calculated in this way removes the effect of case mix and intensity of service from each patient's LOS, and allows the efficiency of medical care to be analyzed. This method was applied to patients who were discharged from a secure unit of a general hospital that serves the tertiary medical needs of patients from the state's correctional system. The LOS for our patients on average corresponded to the 60th percentile for the LOS in other patients with comparable ages and medical conditions. This difference was significantly greater than an expected value of 50.0 (P less than 0.01). The LOS of patients discharged from each specialty service were examined. Two services were identified, in which an increased LOS represented a difference in the practice patterns of physicians in these specialties, in comparison with those of other physicians in this area. An application of the method described in this report should enable hospitals to identify units or services where patients are managed inefficiently and to guide the need for managerial intervention.

Tracking of blood pressure (BP) over an 8-year period between the age of 6 and 14 years and the effect of weight, height, BMI and weight gain has been studied in a population of school children in Jerusalem (n = 533). Pearson's correlation coefficients were 0.65 for weight, 0.61 for height, 0.32 for systolic BP and 0.29 for diastolic BP over an 8-year period. Children maintaining their percentile rank for weight or BMI showed higher correlations than those increasing or decreasing their percentile rank. Girls' menarcheal status did not have a significant effect on the level of BP at 14 years of age. The prevalence of significant and severe BP as defined by the NHLBI Task Force was 1% at 6 years and 0.4% at 14 years. The predictive value of the BP at 6 years for 14 years of age was low even for those with hypertension levels: for SBP 16-33% and for DBP 0-37%. Based on the present study and others, large scale screening of BP is not recommended, rather community based programs aimed at modifying health behaviour in order to prevent development of cardiovascular risk factors and associated morbidity and mortality should be introduced.

When a set of scores is changed to some new scale according to some consistent rule applied to each score, the scores are said to be transformed. The conversion of raw scores to percentile ranks is a little more cumbersome than the temperature conversion, but it is nonetheless an example of a transformation. There is another common transformation for psychological scores besides percentile ranks, which has many uses in statistics. This is the transformation of scores to z scores. The mean of a distribution of z scores is always equal to 0; the variance and standard deviation of a distribution of z scores are always equal to 1. If a constant value a is added to every score in a distribution, the mean of that distribution will increase by precisely that amount a . However, the variance remains unchanged by the addition or subtraction of a constant to the scores of the distribution.

We have already noticed that many frequency distributions are symmetrical, or nearly so, while some (such as the two shown in Figure 7.1) are markedly lopsided or skewed. Skewness is defined as the extent to which a frequency distribution departs from a symmetrical shape.

Numbers appear in newspapers every day. Corporations assemble large quantities of data for their own use. Federal and state governments collect and summarize thousands upon thousands of pages of data. Scientists record the results of their observations. Many other individuals gather information in numerical form. These figures are not ends in themselves, but when properly analyzed and interpreted, they form sound bases for important decisions, valid conclusions, and appropriate courses of action.

A percentile is a point below which a given percentage of the cases occur. For instance, 67 percent of the cases are below the sixty-seventh percentile, which is written as P 67. The middle of a distribution, or the point below which 50 percent of the cases lie, is, of course, the fiftieth percentile. In Chapter 2 we learned another name for this value—the median. The median is probably computed, used, and discussed more than any other percentile.

Four thousand three hundred and thirteen children beginning at five to fourteen years of age have been examined on three to six occasions in Muscatine, Iowa, on alternate years. To compare blood pressures throughout the period of observation each value was expressed as a percentile rank. For each subject the average percentile rank (level), the trend in rank and the variability over time were calculated. Values for height, weight, relative weight and triceps skinfold thickness measurements were expressed in the same fashion. There is a relationship between average rank of blood pressure and average rank of body size as well as between trend of blood pressure and trend of body size percentiles. These observations indicate the importance of relative rate of growth in the establishment of the rank order of blood pressure during childhood.

Clerkship directors in obstetrics-gynecology often use the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) norms to evaluate third-year medical students' performance on the NBME obstetrics-gynecology subject examination. A comparison of the scores of 342 students at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine showed that the students performed significantly better on the NBME subject examination than on the Part II subtest in obstetrics-gynecology. These results concur with the findings of the NBME, which advises directors wishing to adjust the criterion group norms to determine the average difference observed in a school's performance on the two examinations and to use that difference or some portion of it in their interpretation of percentile scores on the subject examination. Additional analyses revealed that a single, linear weight may inappropriately adjust these scores, that student performance on the Part II subtest depends on specialty choice (obstetrics-gynecology versus all others), and that time and sequence of the clerkship were unrelated to the students' performance on the two examinations.

For the purposes of this discussion, separate schooling into these three levels: preschool to the end of grade 1; end of grade 1 through junior high school; and high school.

Physicians routinely plot the heights and weights of children on charts. In using these charts it has been noted that children tend to maintain their percentile rank with increasing age. Children who have high percentiles tend to stay high as they mature, and children who begin low tend to stay low. A child who deviates from his or her percentile rank for height or weight over time may be suspected of having some chronic growth perturbing disease. The phenomenon of children maintaining their rank within their age-sex group is herein referred to as “tracking”. Height and weight are said to “track with age”. This study describes and compares the degree of tracking that occurs for measures of height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, blood pressures, cholesterol and triglyceride over the school age in order to examine their consistency in childhood.

Following treatment in a therapeutic day treatment program, a group of 35 maltreated children were compared to a matched group of 35 maltreated children who had not been enrolled in a therapeutic day treatment program. The results of matched pairs t-test analyses indicated that the treatment subjects had significantly higher developmental scores in five areas of development--fine motor, cognitive, gross motor, social/emotional, and language. Further, pretest and posttest comparisons of the percentile scores of the treatment group indicated that the posttest scores were significantly higher than the pretest scores. This study demonstrates that remediation of developmental delays in maltreated children under the age of 6 years can be accomplished through an intensive day treatment program.

The purpose of this study was to examine experimentally the consequences of classroom-centered testing procedures on schools, teachers, pupils, and parents. We were primarily interested in the use of standardized, norm-referenced tests and the information derived from such tests. For the study the basic features of a school testing program in the United States were simulated. An external agency, in our case the Educational Research Centre at St Patrick’s College, Dublin’ provided standardized, norm-referenced tests of ability and achievement to schools. Classroom teachers administered the tests to their pupils and returned completed answer sheets to the Research Centre for scoring and processing. Test results were then mailed to teachers.

Within the past decade, child clinical neuropsychologists have been called upon increasingly to make relevant and informed recommendations for the treatment of both documented (i.e., traumatic head injury) and putative (i.e., learning disabilities) neurologically based developmental disorders. This increase in requests for specific therapeutic recommendations reflects a change in how the role of the child clinical neuropsychologist is perceived and, in particular, how the data obtained from neuropsychological assessments are used.

Summary.--Certain common consumer activities were related to personality, intelligence, age, and education among 236 male job applicants. Although a number of the correlation coefficients were statistically significant, all were quite low in magnitude. The results tend to confirm a number of earlier studies and are understandable in view of the myriad variables, over and above ego needs, which influence the nature and exrent of consumer behavior. Studies dealing with the reladon between consumer behavior and the personality or personal characteristics of Ss hrve, in some cases, been enlightening but in others, disappointingly unrevealing. Munn (1960) found that where automobiles and cigarettes were concerned, there was virtually no evidence that perception of brand quality varies with income, age or education. Co:%en's (1967) work indicated that aggressive males, to a greater extent than compliant ones, preferred manual over electric razors, and Old Spice over other deodorants. However, he found no relation between personality and preferences for brands of gasoline, bzer, headache remedies, or cigarettes. Vitz and Johnston (1965) revealed a low but significant correlation between the masculinity of cigarette smokers and the perceived masc~liniry of their own brand. The objective of the present srudy was to determine, among a group of adult male Ss, whether intelligence, age, education, and personality traits (as measured by the MMPI) were significantly relarcd to television viewing and the consumprion of cigarettes, aspirin products, coffee, and alcoholic beverages. Method.-The sample inclxded 236 male Caucasians between the ages of 19 and 56 who had been referred to a ps~chological consulting firm for evaluation by 36 different business firms between September, 1966, and June, 1968. Although the majority were job applicants, some were current employees being considered for promotion, Ss were relatively homogeneous from rhc standpoint of motivation, for all were tested in the same realistic employment situation and presumably were strongly motivated to perform as well as possible on the tests. As part of the evaluation, Ss were given the Oris Self-administering Test of Mental Ability and the MMPI. They w-re also required to complete an inventory from which information was obtained regardicg age, education, and consumption of the products under consideration. Ss' mean age, e~ucation, and Otis raw score were 34.5 yr., 13.9 yr., and 52.6 points, respectively, with corresponding SDs of 7.9, 2.5, and 10.9. An Otis raw score of 52.6 converts to a percentile score of approximately 82, using general adult population norms. The data were analyzed by using the product-moment method to correlate Ss' personal and personality characteristics with stated degree of product consumption. Results.-The results are summarized in Table 1, which shows the correlation coefficients among the variables undcr consideration. Some 10 of the 80 values are significant (p 4 .05), whereas on a purely chance basis only four significant values would be expected. At the same time, it is noteworthy that the highest coefficient is only .17, which, although significant (p = .01), suggests only a very modest relation between the two variables. Still, it is probably s:fe to assume that the obtained values are minimum representations of the true relationships, because many Ss undoubtedly tended to underestimate actual consumption levels so as not to impress their prospective or current employers unfavorably. Admission, for example, of excessive television viewing or heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages could easily have undesirable overtones or connotations.

Summary.-It is shown that for the case of non-independence of rrue scores and error scores interpretation of the standard error of measurement is modified in two ways. First, the standard deviation of the distribution of error scores is given by a modified equation. Second, the confidence interval for rrue score varies with the individual's observed score. It is shown char the equation, so = d[(N - 0) /a] + [so'(; - I,.) /T=], where N is the number of items, 0 is the individual's observed score, a is the number of choices per item, soz is observed variance, roo is test reliability as empirically determined, and TO,, is reliability for the case where only non-independent error is present, provides a more accurate interpretation of the test score of an individual. The standard error o measurement has been interpreted as the standard deviation of the distribution of error scores on a test. The relation between the standard error of measurement and test reliability has been expressed by the following equation: 50 = 50 dl - roo , [I1 where J, is the standard error of measurement, so is the standard deviation of observed scores, and roo is test reliability (Kelley, 1927; GuUiksen, 1950). It has been pointed out that the standard error of measurement is a more useful statistic than test reliability because it is expressed in the same units as test scores and because it makes it possible to establish a confidence interval for any individual's true score (Kelley, 1921; Otis & Knollin, 1921). Use of the standard error of measurement In this way depends upon the assumption that error variance remains constant for any individual in the group, i.e., that for any score, the confidence interval is established with reference to the same distribution of error scores. In a previous paper (Zimmerman & Williams, 1965a) the case of nonindependence of true scores and error scores was considered. An example of non-independence of these components of scores is multiple-choice tests, where chance success due to guesskg is possible. Here, there is a negative correlation. Individuals with high true scores obtain relatively lower chance scores, while individuals with low true scores obtain relatively higher chance scores. If the true score is called T, the number of items on which chance successes from guessing are possible is N - T, where N is the total number of items. Then, the expected chance score is given by l/a(N - T), where a is the number of choices per item. The expected chance score, in other words, is a function of T. This

The primary mental screening test used in determining whether Selective Service registrants and applicants for enlistment meet standards for military service is the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). The AFQT, developed through the joint efforts of all the services, is administered to potential enlisted input for all the services. Prospective inductees and enlistees examined in any given period are drawn from the total mobilization population of the nation. All screening tests--and classification tests used for screening--have been geared to this mobilization population. Theoretically, the term refers to the total population of young men available for service under conditions of full mobilization (as occurred in World War II) including individuals who may later by disqualified. Recent standardization studies have indicated the need to review the definition of the population base for which screening tests for military service are designed. The sampling basis for establishing percentile scores on the Armed Forced Qualification Test (AFQT) was reviewed in detail as background for a statement of problems involved in arriving at the most realistic definition of the mobilization population in view of the manpower demands of current and future warfare. The conclusion was that the assumption that the distribution of general aptitude for military service in the mobilization population is the same now as when the standardization base was established in 1944 merits reexamination.

This chapter provides a definition of percentile and illustrates the computation of percentiles. The percentile rank corresponding to a given score refers to the percent of cases in a given reference group scoring at or below that score. A specified raw score may be converted to the corresponding percentile rank to express its standing relative to the reference group, or the raw score corresponding to a specified percentile may be determined. The percentile divides the scale into 100 equal parts; however, the decile divides the scale into 10 equal parts and the quartile divides the scale into four equal parts. The score corresponding to the 50th percentile has the unique property that exactly half the scores in the group are higher and exactly half the scores in the group are equal or lower. It is called the median and it is one of the measures of central tendency.

The presentation on a two dimensional surface of a single point most descriptive of the values of multiple .uncorrelated parameters of an attribute has presented formidible problems if more than three measures are available. With only three measures, conversion to percentile scores and plotting on triangular cross section paper is frequently adequate. With more than three, involved computational procedures such as multivariate analysis have previously been necessary.

Since 1953, applicants for enlistment in the Army have been required to pass the Enlistment Screening Test (EST) before being sent to an Armed Forces Examining Station to take the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). The current forms 3 and 4 of the EST, consisting of 48 items and requiring 45 minutes to administer, have been operational since 1956. These forms yield a full range of percentile scores. However, the requirement is merely to predict pass-fail, that is, to provide 'go-no go' information. The feasibility of drastically shortening the EST has been suggested by research from two quarters. Cronbach and Warrington (3) showed that short multiple-choice tests built of items of uniform difficulty for use with a particular qualifying score can be as valid as longer tests covering a full range of item difficulty. U.S. APRO experience with the Army Qualification Battery (1,4) showed that where concern focused on a narrow range of ability (here, primarily AFQT Category IV), tests could be shortened by omitting items substantially above and below the difficulty level of concern without appreciably impairing effectiveness.

The current Army Qualification Battery (AQB) uses a clerical test similar to that the Army Classification Battery (ACB). It would be desirable to substitute a clerical test that is simpler to administer and score than the operational ACB Army Clerical Speed Test (ACS) and at the same time equivalent in validity. One possible substitute is the Coding Speed Test (CS) of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery which was designed to be equivalent to ACS Part II, Coding. Concern with ease of administration and scoring of the ACS stems from the fact that it is administered at Armed Forces Entrance and Examining Stations (AFEES) to individuals in mental category IV (AFQT percentile scores 10-30) and to men applying for enlisted commitments. Because the time available for processing at the AFEES is limited, any improvement to facilitate test administration and scoring is especially valuable.

The Army Qualification Battery (AQB) was developed in the early 1960's to serve as a supplementary screening instrument for use at the Armed Forces Entrance and Examining Stations (AFEES). It is administered to individuals who are in mental Category IV (AFQT percentile scores 10-30) and to the men desiring enlisted commitment to a specific type of training. The tests in the AQB were designed to measure the same attributes as the tests in the Army Classification Battery (ACB); the AQB, however, is shorter and is designed to make maximum discrimination at the low end of the ability continuum, whereas the ACB is designed for use with the full range of ability. One aspect that was questioned was the use of a dual testing program in the Army. The arguments advanced in favor of the ACB were that it is a better, more reliable instrument and that some Category IV personnel can improve their scores upon retesting. Data on the relationship between AQB and ACB scores can shed some light on changes in scores upon retesting with the ACB.

It was proposed that an individual would most often expect to date, would try to date, and would like a partner of approximately his own social desirability. In brief, we attempted to apply level of aspiration theory to choice of social goals. A field study was conducted in which individuals were randomly paired with one another at a "Computer Dance." Level of aspiration hypotheses were not confirmed. Regardless of S's own attractiveness, by far the largest determinant of how much his partner was liked, how much he wanted to date the partner again, and how often he actually asked the partner out was simply how attractive the partner was. Personality measures such as the MMPI, the Minnesota Counseling Inventory, and Berger's Scale of SelfAcceptance and intellectual measures such as the Minnesota Scholastic Aptitude Test, and high school percentile rank did not predict couple compatability. The only important determinant of S's liking for his date was the date's physical attractiveness.

Children from low socio-economic status (SES) households often demonstrate worse growth and developmental outcomes than wealthier children, in part because poor children face a broader range of risk factors. It is difficult to characterize the trajectories of SES disparities in low- and middle-income countries because longitudinal data are infrequently available. We analyze measures of children's linear growth (height) at ages 1, 5, 8 and 12y and receptive language (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) at ages 5, 8 and 12y in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam in relation to household SES, measured by parental schooling or household assets. We calculate children's percentile ranks within the distributions of height-for-age z-scores and of age- and language-standardized receptive vocabulary scores. We find that children in the top quartile of household SES are taller and have better language performance than children in the bottom quartile; differences in vocabulary scores between children with high and low SES are larger than differences in the height measure. For height, disparities in SES are present by age 1y and persist as children age. For vocabulary, SES disparities also emerge early in life, but patterns are not consistent across age; for example, SES disparities are constant over time in India, widen between 5 and 12y in Ethiopia, and narrow in this age range in Vietnam and Peru. Household characteristics (such as mother's height, age, and ethnicity), and community fixed effects explain most of the disparities in height and around half of the disparities in vocabulary. We also find evidence that SES disparities in height and language development may not be fixed over time, suggesting opportunities for policy and programs to address these gaps early in life.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with increased levels of anxiety. However, whether autism is related to heightened test anxiety as one situation-specific type of anxiety has not yet been examined. This question may be relevant for the achievement and well-being of autistic people in educational settings (e.g., at universities). In this study, we took a first step to investigate whether autistic university students have increased test anxiety. A sample of 16 German-speaking university students completed an established diagnostic instrument to measure test anxiety and its components of worry, emotionality, cognitive interference, and lack of confidence. The scores of the autistic students were compared with the test anxiety means and percentile ranks of the standardization sample for the applied test anxiety measure (n = 1350). For an additional comparison, the test anxiety means and percentile ranks of non-autistic university students (n = 101) were assessed during the last third of the semester; that is, close to the examinations. Overall, the results suggest that autistic university students have remarkably increased test anxiety. Although the present findings must be considered preliminary, they suggest that text anxiety in educational settings may be a neglected significant problem for autistic people that requires further attention in research and practice.

Informal caregivers’ (CGs’) subjective burden is an important aspect of the care situation because it is linked to various outcomes such as health, mortality risk, institutionalization, and caregiving style. The aims of this study were a) to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the 10-item short version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers (BSFC-s) and b) to develop a valid classification system for interpreting BSFC-s scores. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data obtained from 386 informal CGs who applied for an initial grade or upgrade of the care level for the care recipient at the Medical Service of Compulsory Health Insurance Funds of Bavaria (Germany). To validate the BSFC-s, we analyzed the reliability and the convergent/discriminant validity. We calculated correlations with the short form of the Giessen Symptom Complaints List (GBB-24), the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI), the personal further development sub-scale of the Berlin Inventory of Caregivers’ Burden with Dementia Patients (BIZA-D), and other scales for establishing informal CGs’ situations. To develop the classification system, we compared the percentile ranks of the GBB-24 with the respective BSFC-s sum scores and their distributions and derived three classification categories. Results confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of the BSFC-s (GBB-24: r = 0.68; CSI: r = 0.70; BIZA-D: r = 0.16; p