Effects of response format on achievement and aptitude assessment results: multi-level random effects meta-analyses

Psychological achievement and aptitude tests are fundamental elements of the everyday school, academic and professional lives of students, instructors, job applicants, researchers and policymakers. In line with growing demands for fair psychological assessment tools, we aimed to identify psychometric features of tests, test situations and test-taker characteristics that may contribute to the emergence of test bias. Multi-level random effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate mean effect sizes for differences and relations between scores from achievement or aptitude measures with open-ended (OE) versus closed-ended (CE) response formats. Results from 102 primary studies with 392 effect sizes revealed positive relations between CE and OE assessments (mean r = 0.67, 95% CI [0.57; 0.76]), with negative pooled effect sizes for the difference between the two response formats (mean d av = -0.65; 95% CI [-0.78; -0.53]). Significantly higher scores were obtained on CE exams. Stem-equivalency of items, low-stakes test situations, written short answer OE question types, studies conducted outside the United States and before the year 2000, and test-takers' achievement motivation and sex were at least partially associated with smaller differences and/or larger relations between scores from OE and CE formats. Limitations and the results' implications for practitioners in achievement and aptitude testing are discussed.

Text input speed in persons with cervical spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

This is a prospective clinical study.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to determine text input speed (TIS) in persons with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and to study the influence of personal characteristics and type of computer access device on TIS.

SETTING

This study was conducted in the Rehabilitation Department, Garches, France.

METHODS

People with cervical SCI were included if their level of injury was between C4 and C8 Asia A or B, and if they were computer users. In addition, able-bodied people were recruited from the hospital staff. Each participant underwent a single evaluation using their usual computer access devices. TIS was evaluated during a 10- min copying task. The relationship between the characteristics of participants with cervical SCI, type of computer access device and TIS were analyzed using a Scheirer-Ray-Hare test (nonparametric test similar to a two-way analysis of variance).

RESULTS

Thirty-five participants with cervical SCI and 21 able-bodied people were included. Median TIS of participants with cervical SCI was 11 (6; 14) words per minute (w.p.m.) and of able-bodied participants was 19 (14; 24) w.p.m. (P=0.001). Median TIS of participants with lesions at or above C5 was 12 (4; 13) w.p.m. and of those with lesions below C5 was 10 (9; 18) w.p.m. (P=0.38) [corrected]. The Scheirer-Ray-Hare test showed that only the type of computer access device significantly influenced TIS. Surprisingly, none of the person's characteristics, including the level of cervical lesion, affected TIS.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to analyze TIS in a group of participants with cervical SCI. The results showed that only the type of computer access device influenced TIS.

Testing the extreme male brain theory of autism spectrum disorder in a familial design

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be an extreme manifestation of some male-typical traits in both neuroanatomy and cognition. Using the ratio of the second to fourth digit (2D:4D) and digit length as biomarkers of (pre- and postnatal) testosterone levels, examined was whether hypermasculinized digit ratios and/or lengths were familial traits in ASD and investigated their relation to sexually dimorphic cognitive abilities. 2D:4D ratios and digit lengths of 216 children with ASD, 202 unaffected siblings, and 360 parents were compared with those of 174 control children and their 146 parents. Generalized Estimation Equations, Generalized Linear Models, and Linear Mixed Models were used to investigate parent-offspring relationships and group differences. In ASD probands and their relatives alike, digit length relative to overall height was significantly increased in comparison to controls. No significant group differences were found between affected and unaffected subjects, or between males and females. Additionally, 2D:4D ratios increased with age. No (consistent) associations were found between 2D:4D ratio or digit lengths and systemizing and empathizing skills. The findings emphasize the role of familially based elevated pre- and postnatal testosterone levels in the liability for ASD, but challenge the use of 2D:4D ratio as a proxy of prenatal testosterone exposure solely. Given that many genes influence digit length, the exact mechanisms underlying a familial predisposition toward increased digit length in ASD are as yet unknown and needs to be explored in future studies.

Compromised visually guided motor control in individuals with Alzheimer's disease: can reliable distinctions be observed?

Identifying the multitude of deficits associated with dementia-related illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents a significant challenge for many health care facilities, particularly as current screening procedures may lack the sensitivity to highlight all the relative functional deficits within these populations. Although quick assessment screening tools, such as the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), have been the mainstay in screening patients worldwide, there are limitations to their ability in identifying visuomotor (VM) impairment. Thus, the primary objective of this research was to evaluate the presence and level of VM ability/deficits in healthy normal controls (NC) and populations with AD. The research also aimed to demonstrate that a VM measure can be utilized successfully in a busy health care setting. Results showed a clear distinction between the AD and NC groups on the VM measure. Large effect size differences were observed between groups, particularly as the VM task progressed through its varying conditions. In addition, this novel VM assessment measure demonstrated good presentation and speed and was appropriate for frontline staff in a primary healthcare setting to undertake further examination of an individual's overall visually guided ability/control.