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The Elements of Mental Tests provides an introduction to mental testing and the use of psychological and educational measures. Part I: The Elements of Measurement introduces the types of educational and psychological tests commonly in use, the test data those measures collect, and the types of test items that make up a test. Part II: The Elements of Test Scores introduces the mathematical models that professionals use to represent test-takers' answers to test questions. Part II begins with a review of basic statistics particularly relevant to measurement, including the conversion of test scores to z-scores and the use of correlation coefficients to relate test items and tests to one another. Part II continues with an integrated introduction to both Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory-the most influential methods for understanding tests in use today. Part III: The Elements of Test Quality examines the standards of good testing including a test's reliability and its precision of measurement, the evaluation of test validity, and the features of a good test administration. Altogether, the book provides a comprehensive foundation for readers who are interested in tests, in testing, and in their use in contemporary life.
About the author
John D. Mayer is a professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire where he regularly teaches courses in psychological measurement. Dr. Mayer has had a lifelong interest in psychological tests and has pioneered tests of personality, including in the areas of mood and intelligence. He is the coauthor of the internationally-known Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), and of the recently-developed Test of Personal Intelligence (TOPI). Dr. Mayer is the author of over 125 scientific publications that have appeared in scientific journals and books, including Personal Intelligence: The Power of Personality and How it Shapes Our Lives (Scientific American/Farrar Straus & Giroux).
