Robert B. Frary

Fears in children and adolescents: Reliability and generalizability across gender, age and nationality

In this study, the reliability and generalizability of the FSSC-R was explored across gender, age and nationality. 594 normal children and adolescents from the United States and 591 normal youths from Australia participated. Results confirmed that the schedule is internally consistent across these subject parameters, and that the factor structure is fairly robust. Future directions, including use of the schedule with client populations, are addressed.

Indices of Cheating on Multiple-Choice Tests

This paper reports the development of indices reflecting the probability that the observed correspondence between the multiple-choice test responses of two examinees was due to chance. Applications of the indices are presented both with respect to apprehending persons who cheat by copying answers and with respect to monitoring the prevalence of this form of cheating in order to evaluate methods of preventing it.

A dietary calcium rapid assessment method (RAM)

A rapid assessment method (RAM) for dietary calcium was designed to accomplish three goals: (1) to be user friendly to those with at least an eighth grade education level for self-report and calculation by limiting the number of functional digits and food items for mathematical manipulation; (2) to

A Factor-Analytic Study of Mathematics Anxiety.

Responses from 491 university students largely from non-technical majors were obtained for 21 personality scales, five scales reflecting attitudes toward mathematics and six personal characteristics. Factor analysis of the personality and mathematics attitude variables revealed that scores on four of the five mathematics attitude scales (one of which was entitled Math Anxiety) were strongly related to a single, underlying attitude toward mathematics. This underlying variable was in turn substantially related to mathematics level attained in high school, general academic achievement (GPA) and current mathematics grade. This global mathematics attitude factor was essentially unrelated to sex or any of the personality variables. Sex was, however, weakly related to the fifth mathematics attitude variable, which reflected the degree of desirability which subjects assigned to personal success in mathematics. Females tended to be more negative in this regard.

The effect of misinformation, partial information, and guessing on expected multiple-choice test item scores

Six response/scoring methods for multiple-choice tests are analyzed with respect to expected item scores under various levels of information and mis information. It is shown that misinformation always and necessarily results in expected item scores lower than those associated with complete igno rance. Moreover, it is shown that some re sponse/scoring methods penalize all conditions of misinformation equally, and others have varying penalties according to the number of wrong choices the misinformed examinee has categorized with the correct choice. One method exacts the greatest pen alty when a specific wrong choice is believed cor rect ; two other methods provide the maximum pen alty when the examinee is confident only that the correct choice is incorrect. Partial information is shown to yield substantially different expected item scores from one method to another. Guessing is an alyzed under the assumption that examinees guess whenever it is advantageous to do so under the scoring method used and that these conditions would be made clear to the examinee. Additional guessing is shown to have no effect on expected item scores in some cases, though in others it is shown to lower the expected item score. These out comes are discussed with respect to validity and reliability of resulting total scores and also with re spect to test content and examinee characteristics.

The Psychological Effects of Hurricane Andrew on Ethnic Minority and Caucasian Children and Adolescents: A Case Study.

The impact of Hurricane Andrew on 212 African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic elementary and middle school children was examined at 6 months postdisaster. Using self-report instruments, this case study examined the predictive utility of several hypothesized mediators of childrens reactions to disaster. Results showed higher levels of intrusive symptomatology for girls and for elementary school children as compared with their middle school counterparts. No differences were found with reference to race. The lack of findings concerning race is addressed, as well as implications for future studies.

Over consumption of fat by college students: the fast food connection

College students (416) in an introductory nutrition class were surveyed to determine how college students categorize foods and to establish the relationships between fat intake (3‐day diet record), everyday food choices and fat practices (frequency survey), and fast‐food use (attendance and food consumption). Factor analysis of everyday food choices resulted in five groupings, three high‐fat and two low‐fat. Males averaged 84 g fat/day (range 26–212); women 61 g fat/day (range 25–201). Fat intake was almost double for students with the highest fast‐food attendance (97 g) compared to the lowest (50 g). Fast‐food intake does not necessarily contribute a great amount of fat to the overall diet, but is predictive of a certain type of high‐fat dietary pattern.

A Simulation Study of Reliability and Validity of Multiple-Choice Test Scores Under Six Response-Scoring Modes.

Responses to a 40-item, four-choice test were simulated for 120 examinees under six response-scoring modes including number-right, corrected-for-guessing and answer-until-correct. Separate score sets were generated to reflect five levels of prevalence of misinformation (belief that an answer is a distractor) and five levels of propensity-to-guess contrary to instructions for modes designed to inhibit guessing. Criteria were simulated using the number-right mode with five levels of misinformation prevalence and four levels of true-score relationship with the predictor. The entire process was repeated with the introduction of normally distributed, random error at the item level. This process yielded 260 sets of five scores (predictor and four criteria), which were examined to determine differential effects on reliability and validity attributable to the response-scoring modes. Modes permitting multiple responses to an item were found to yield genuine increases in internal consistency reliability, which tended to carry over into validity coefficients. However, the validity differences among all the response-scoring modes simulated were small, probably too small to justify the additional cost and complexity of modes other than number-right.

Comparison of Two Indices of Answer Copying and Development of a Spliced Index

Two indices of answer copying, one using only identical wrong responses and the other using both right and wrong, were compared using naturally occurring test responses (no simulation of copying). Each index pointed to the existence of about the same number of exannnee pairs who had copied. However, index B implicated more higher scoring pairs that he g2 index, which, in turn, implicated more lower scoring pairs. An adaptation Of g2 using only wrong-answer correspondences was found to identify even more pairs of highly likely copiers than B among higher scoring examinees. A spliced index, the regular g2 for lower scoring pairs and g2 based on identical wrong responses for higher scoring pairs, was found to identify substantially more pairs of likely copiers than any single index. The methodological approach adopted made it possible to evaluate the indices without knowing which pairs of examinees actually copied.

Psychometric Properties of Finite-State Scores Versus Number-Correct and Formula Scores: A Simulation Study

As developed by García-Pérez (1987), finite-state scores are nonlinear transformations of the proportions of conventional multiple-choice responses that are cor rect, incorrect, and omitted. They estimate the propor tions of item alternatives which the examinees had the knowledge needed to classify (as correct or incorrect) before seeing them together in the items. The present study used simulation techniques to generate conven tional test responses and to track the proportions of al ternatives the examinees could classify independently before taking the test and the proportions they could classify after taking the test. Then the finite-state scores were computed and compared with these actual values and with number-correct and formula scores based on the conventional responses. Highly favorable results were obtained leading to recommendations for the use of finite-state scores. These results were al most the same when the simulation proceeded accord ing to the model and when it was based on a natural istic process completely independent of the model. Hence the scoring procedures on which finite-state scores are based are both accurate and robust. Index terms: applied measurement models, examinee behav ior, finite-state scores, guessing, multiple-choice tests, test scoring.