Watching a re-run of THE AVENGERS on Sunday, I came across another measurement quote after John Steed has been shrunk to approximately 2 inches in size by a ray gun: "She's startled when Steed emerges from the APC on the desk - "Steed? It can't be! It's a dream, a... Continue reading

What about norm referenced tests, I hear you ask ... In this article, Brennan (1972) adopts the orthodox view that norm referenced tests rely on the assumption of normally distributed test scores. Brennan (1972) uses / describes / advocates for the standard classical test theory line about the importance of... Continue reading

"In summary, the ideal item in the criterion-referenced testing situation is the item with a non-significant discrimination index and a high difficulty level; items that discriminate negatively are clearly unacceptable; and items that discriminate positively usually indicate a need for revision." R.L. Brennan (1972) A generalized upper-lower item discrimination index.... Continue reading

Leutner et al. (2017) used LASSO Regression to reduce the number of image response options. SOURCE: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886916310352 LASSO (Least Absolute Shrinkge and Selection Operator) is brief described here: http://www.statisticshowto.com/lasso-regression/ "Lasso regression is a type of linear regression that uses shrinkage. Shrinkage is where data values are shrunk towards a central... Continue reading

Here is a novel approach to survey research and psychological test responding. The continuing digital revolution is disrupting traditional psychological assessments. (See the Red Bull Wingfinder assessment: https://www.wingfinder.com/science). Here is a ground-breaking piece of research in this area by Leutner and colleagues (2017) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886916310352 That said, the degree of the... Continue reading

I checked today the Item location parameter estimates JAM (R package via SPSS) vs. QUEST using the same large secondary research dataset. Here are the item location parameter estimates for the first 15 items (please note that several items are grouped around a reading stimulus). For me, there seems to... Continue reading

Here is some recent measurement work by one of the best, Dr. Mike Linacre, using the very popular MasterChef TV program in Australia: http://www.winsteps.com/masterchef.htm Continue reading

Other QUEST commands to try: show items!form=anchor >> AnchorST 5-12 4ich.txt show cases!form=export >> CasesST 5-12 TAGSscale.txt group (gender=0)!boys group (gender=1)!girls Estimate !iter=100;scale=ALL estimate !iter=100;scale=DASS compare item !group=boys,girls; scale=DASS;- form=plot,table,diffmap,mh >>COMPboysgirlsDASS.doc Other more complex commands concern polytomous scoring, alpha-numeric scoring conversion, item anchoring, and item DIF analysis. Continue reading

Some commands to drive QUEST software (a precursor program to ConQUEST) References: https://www.rasch.org/rmt/rmt114d.htm https://conquest-sales.acer.edu.au/index.php?cmd=toFreeware Some commands for a simple multiple-choice assessment using a scored dataset containing 80 items and a 6 digit ID code. *Qstart set length=95!page set width=72!page data_file Qstart.dat format items 7-86 ID 1-6 codes 01 set logon... Continue reading

“A national audience of 820,000 viewers tuned in to the show last Monday but a small proportion of them were unable to watch it digitally on streaming service Foxtel Now and the Foxtel App.” “Despite signing up specifically to watch the series these new customers and their sudden arrival onto... Continue reading

Measurement Is Everywhere: I liked how Australian Ninja Warrior used the old assessment trick to massively increasing task difficulty by limiting the time required to complete the task. This adds an another element (the element of speed or speededness) to task completion. "If stage one was brutal, stage two was... Continue reading

Alan Kolher has a fantastic article on the importance of June 2007 (the month that changed the world) in The Australian newspaper: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/alan-kohler/june-2007-the-month-that-changed-the-world/news-story/d21cd3ae902dee5fe1bad8072218af4d Here is the introduction: “This month is the 10th anniversary of two events that changed the world: the launch of the iPhone and the GFC. Steve Jobs... Continue reading

A super introductory paper into Consumer Psychology and Brand Development by Pat Freeland-Small, Head, Marketing, Communications and Events, Australian Psychological Society (APS). SOURCE: https://www.psychology.org.au/Content.aspx?ID=7978 Here are some key takeaways for me: The Five Cs of branding: Consistency Continuity Communication Cooperation Control The role of Old Media versus New Media in... Continue reading

The CONQUEST Command Reference Manual (version 4) 2016 by Ray Adams and Alejandra Osses is located here: https://www.acer.org/files/Command-Reference.pdf Continue reading

More Big Ideas In Number From Professor Dianne Siemon. See https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/devbigideas.pdf This reference is a useful teaching resource for primary school teachers. But for my purposes, I think the starting quote from McIntosh (1997) Number Sense in School Mathematics is super and can be applied to many scientific / technological... Continue reading

More great stuff in Dispelling Education Myths from Prof. John Hattie (SOURCE: https://www.slrc.org.au/dispelling-educational-myths/ ) Some really useful quotes for practitioners. Myth busting Prof. John Hattie style! Some of the most effective learning happens when teachers ask students what they predict their results will be before a test. Upon establishing a... Continue reading

Key Takeaways From Prof. John Hattie (2015) Slides. A great find on the net. Some great slides about learning strategy, and the use of appropriate feedback about error/mistakes to drive further learning. Learning strategies: An over emphasis on surface knowing The mantra should be “surface to deep to transfer” The... Continue reading

Here is the latest information from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) on the use of testimonials by psychologists for education / training workshops and books: “The APS sought clarification on the use of testimonials where psychologists are providing services that are not health-related, such as in the publication of books... Continue reading

What Is Learning? By Prof. John Hattie (2015) “What is learning? – The process of developing sufficient surface knowledge to then move to deeper understanding such that one can appropriately transfer this learning to new tasks & situations.” Can we measure the difference between surface knowledge and deep knowledge? Has... Continue reading

Roger Federer made some interesting comments about ranking points in tennis last week. This got me thinking about - What do the numbers mean? Ranking systems in sports are not straightforward. They are controversial. Of course, the devil is in the detail. What do the numbers or points or the... Continue reading

I was watching a re-run of the movie The Great Escape yesterday and discovered another brilliant set of quotes about measurement (or should I say test design). I wonder what would happen if you put all the bad, mis-fitting items together into one test. What would be the result? What... Continue reading

A top quote about dogma by Henry Ergas in today’s Australian newspaper: “A dogma, Groucho Marx might have said, is a man’s best friend. After all, no one could deny that a fixed set of beliefs can sustain good combat, soothe defeat and simplify hard choices.” SOURCE: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/australian-liberalism-is-conservative-in-sense-disraeli-would-appreciate/news-story/40456523329506aebe2dc14fd2009fe2?login=1 One of... Continue reading

The famous Regensburg address of Pope Benedict XVI has some important philosophical insights into the nature of science in the modern world: "This modern concept of reason is based, to put it briefly, on a synthesis between Platonism (Cartesianism) and empiricism, a synthesis confirmed by the success of technology. On... Continue reading

Measurement Quote: How many days in the year? ... 365 'Make your day count' as said in a recent radio advertisement. How many days count in the year? ... Continue reading

Here is a helpful post for using R project to graph correlations: http://www.gardenersown.co.uk/education/lectures/r/correl.htm#cor_graph This post helped me with my graphic work for my latest research paper using bi-variate correlations (or scatter-diagrams). It provided the springboard for my trial and error work in developing graphical examples. Thanks to Dr. Mark Gardner... Continue reading