Testing formal Reasoning
William M. Bart, Karen E. Schleisman · Applied Measurement in Education · 1988
Developing objective, paper-and-pencil tests of formal reasoning that reflect the features of the Inhelder-Piaget tasks has been neither easy nor very successful. Four paper-and-pencil tests are discussed as well as the Noelting Orange Juice Test and the Siegler rule-assessment tests. All the tests reviewed have weaknesses necessitating the use of several measures to assess formal reasoning. The conclusions call for a second generation of formal reasoning tests that (a) can be easily administered and scored, (b) include either free-response or multiple-choice items, (c) are reliable and valid, and (d) feature structurally parallel versions in different content areas. More important, however, are the properties of diagnosticity and prescriptivity. Such tests would be theory referenced and would require a bold research program to link the necessary cognitive research with the test construction effort.