Subscores
A Practical Guide to Their Production and Consumption

A treatment of proper and improper uses of subscores for test publishers and developers, psychometricians, and all users of scores.

Shelby Haberman (Author), Sandip Sinharay (Author), Richard A. Feinberg (Author), Howard Wainer (Author)

9781009413688, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 February 2024

194 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.6 cm, 0.42 kg

'I recommend that anyone who is involved in test design and score reporting should obtain a copy of this book and digest the main messages. The motives driving the desire for subscores will not go away. It is important that those in the testing industry have ways of dealing with the continuing desire for subscores.' Mark Reckase, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics

This authoritative guide directs consumers and users of test scores on when and how to provide subscores and how to make informed decisions based on them. The book is designed to be accessible to practitioners and score users with varying levels of technical expertise, from executives of testing organizations and students who take tests to graduate students in educational measurement, psychometricians, and test developers. The theoretical background required to evaluate subscores and improve them are provided alongside examples of tests with subscores to illustrate their use and misuse. The first chapter covers the history of tests, subtests, scores, and subscores. Later chapters go into subscore reporting, evaluating and improving the quality of subscores, and alternatives to subscores when they are not appropriate. This thorough introduction to the existing research and best practices will be useful to graduate students, researchers, and practitioners.

1. Introduction
2. How are subscores reported?
3. When and how should subscores be reported?
4. A survey to explore the conditions under which subscores have added value
5. What to do when subscores do not have added value. Augmentation, no subscore reporting, and some other options
6. Coda: Lessons learned, conclusions, and recommendations
Appendix
Glossary
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Social research & statistics [JHBC]