D. B. Owen: Handbook of Statistical Tables. London: Pergamon Press; Reading, Massachusetts: Addison‐Wesley, 1962. Pp. xii+580. 70s.

Handbook of Statistical Tables.

Best Test Design. Rasch Measurement.

After a discussion about objectivity in measurement, this paper describes some linear and logistic models for the implementation of latent trait theory. The aim is to consider those mathematical and educational issues pertinent to learning more about the topic and using those standardized tests which utilize the Rasch and similar models of assessment.

Objective tests and latent trait theories

The study focused on investigating how Nigerian adolescents respond to Bronfenbrenner's and Kohlberg's moral dilemmas. Ninety Hausa Muslim adolescents (60 boys and 30 girls), studying in a day and two boarding secondary schools in Kano City took part in the inquiry. It was found that the subjects tended to resolve Bronfenbrenner's dilemmas in an adult‐approved direction. The results also showed that day school pupils’ moral reasoning was more advanced than that of boarding school pupils, and subjects’ socio‐economic background and sex did not relate to the ways they resolved the moral dilemmas.

Resolutions of Moral Dilemmas by Nigerian Secondary School Pupils.

What is the extent of error likely with each of several approximations for the standard deviation, internal consistency reliability, and the standard error of measurement? To help answer this question, approximations were compared with exact statistics obtained on 85 different classroom tests constructed and administered by professors in a variety of fields; means and standard deviations of the resulting differences supported the use of approximations in practical situations. Results of this analysis (1) suggest a greater number of alternative formulas that might be employed, and (2) provide additional information concerning the accuracy of approximations with non-normal distributions.

Evidence on the quality of several approximations for commonly used measurement statistics1

A short‐cut formula for standard deviation

En appliquant a un echantillon d'etudiants canadiens le test des dilemmes moraux de Bronfenbrenner, l'A. ne vise pas seulement une comparaison avec les resultats obtenus par les sujets anglais de Beloff et Paton, mais il s'interroge aussi sur la valeur technique de l'instrument. Il calcule les correlations entre les resultats des differentes conditions experimentales et les correlations entre le test de Bronfenbrenner et l'echelle d'Edimbourg ajoutee par Beloff et Paton. Il procede a une analyse factorielle des 36 items du test des diltmmes moraux et, mesurant la fidelite de ces items par la methode des formes equivalentes, il obtient un coeffcient egal a. 905.

Geoffrey P. Mason

Papers

A short‐cut formula for standard deviation

A Note on Bronfenbrenner's Moral Dilemmas