Technical Report - International Military Testing Association

.
.
.
In their reply the US Army Personnel Research Office stated:
..* the background data reported will include not only
ACB scores but also such factors as age, cducatkon,
cfvilfan experience, etc. These variables wtLK be included
in the analysis with the experimental test data.
“The non-cognitive factors referred to *.. have indeed
been demonstrated to be important in training performance,
and in jcb performance as well. In this regard
it Is worth noting tbct the erperinen:al battery
contains several non-aptitude type measures, designed
to evaluate those enduring interests, attitudes, rind
other personal characteristics which help determine
what a man - vi11 - - do - rathtr than cnly what he can - do. -
One goal in the revised ACB is to provide a
Classification Inventory which vi11 measure personal
characteristics predictive of performance in occupatfonai
areas such as electronics, mechanical maintenance,
clerical-admlnfstrative, and other areas, just as
the present CI measures personal factors which predicted
combat performance in the Korean War. 2
-addition - to these enduring --s--Y characteristics. - - -a__- however *
there are factorof my.--_ a~otivstion which .e-are prfmnrlQ
-situatfocel. - The classification br,ttery cannot predfct
these, but this r Isearch program must take Lnto
account the effects of such factors on the flndinge.
It will be very helpful to the USAPRO scfentieta if,
in conjunction with thfe program, the training installationr
can contribute inrlghtr end data on such
factors.”
In this theoretical sympooio?n M have been able to little more thrrr
touch on possible approaches to more effectively measuring some of the
eight types of characteristic8 listed in the tntroduction. Thin afternoon
a fev more possible approaches wfll be presented, Some should
prove productive, and all should be stimulating. For example, in some
occuprtfonal specialties even gross methods of controllfng item readability
should yield prcfitable improvements especiallqr in tests for occupational
specialties in which the level of reading ability of incumbents f~ a
significant contributor to invalid variance of Hcorca. These improvements
should be even greater for such tests i.f three 8teps can be accomplished.
First, If a more precise item readability index can be developed instead
of using adaptations of the gross sampling methods that are adequate for
masfies of regular prose. Second, if a practical method can be developed.
for correcting this index for special technical terminology characteristic
and counon inthe occupational specialty. Third, if some means of determining
the distribution of reading ability in each specfalty ia
feasible.
83
---- .-. ..- .--_ -_8_-.-.-- ..- - ._ -.-. -..- ._ .__.(._
.
*
k