Showing papers by "Susan E. Embretson published in 1987"
TL;DR: The cognitive characteristics of paragraph compre hension items were studied by comparing models that deal with two general processing stages: text represen tation and response decision as discussed by the authors, and the models...
Abstract: The cognitive characteristics of paragraph compre hension items were studied by comparing models that deal with two general processing stages: text represen tation and response decision. The models...
134 citations
TL;DR: The SAT has not changed fundamentally since its inception without diminishing its pragmatic utility suggests that the SAT is appropriate for its intended purpose as discussed by the authors, however, the social and scientific milieu has certainly changed since the 1920s.
Abstract: That the SAT has not changed fundamentally since its inception without diminishing its pragmatic utility suggests that the SAT is appropriate for its intended purpose. Nevertheless, the social and scientific milieu has certainly changed since the 1920s. This paper reviews the implications of scientific developments accompanying the revival of cognitive psychology. We distinguished early in the paper between a process-oriented or diagnostic test and an outcomes-oriented test such as the SAT. Since the SAT does not aim to be a diagnostic test the implications of cognitive theories for test construction that would otherwise be applicable were not emphasized. Nevertheless, an analysis was presented based on quantitative items that illustrates how tests with a diagnostic orientation could be based on cognitive principles. Most of the paper, however, is devoted to an explication of the linkage of cognitive principles with psychometric considerations for an outcomes-oriented test like the SAT. The essence of that linkage is an accounting of item difficulty, that is, an understanding of the differences in difficulty among items. This understanding, can be viewed as an additional requirement for construct validity, which until recently focused almost exclusively on an accounting of the covariation of test scores in terms of “abilities.” In other words, explaining covariation and item difficulty are now equally important aspects of validation. Although work from this enlarged validational perspective on SAT items is limited, there is work based on similar items, especially analogy and reading comprehension, which suggests that the SAT will fare well when relevant studies are conducted. Despite this positive outlook additional studies need to be conducted based on an enlarged validational framework. Even though the predictive power of the test is not likely to increase significantly because of this research, it is nevertheless essential as a means of realizing the programmatic implications discussed in the paper.
4 citations