Educational Abilities

It is common knowledge that a wide range of ability may be expected from different individuals in a given class and that scores representing objective measures of achievement or other traits will vary widely. Since the human mind is not able to grasp and hold numerous unlike facts in isolation, accurate description of test results depends upon their statistical summarization. Summaries and descriptions of this type need not disturb the student, for after all most of these elementary statistical procedures are simple. Actually the main requirements are the learning of a new and different type of vocabulary and the use of a few relatively simple arithmetic skills. Various techniques and devices for attributing additional meaning to test scores and distributions of test results are necessary, however, if optimum use of such results is to be attained. This book deals with the basic procedures and devices commonly used in attributing readily understandable meaning to the results of measurement.