A Measure of Quality

Excerpted from "The Ideas of the University", a compilation of the winning answers in a contest asking readers to write about important ideas associated with the University of Chicago. Of the 12 winners, only two related to Professors then still active at the University, Ben Wright and Mike Csikszentmihalyi of "Flow" fame. This winning entry was entitled "A Measure of Quality", and appeared in "The University of Chicago Magazine", 1992, 84:4, 25.

Without the University of Chicago, there would be no fundamental measurement in social science. Why has there been almost no progress in understanding and solving social problems in the last 100 years? Benjamin Drake Wright's diagnosis is that the fuzzy nature of data in the social sciences inhibits clarity of thought. To Wright, PhD '57, professor in education and psychology, the difficulty lies in the fact that social science data are often counts of qualitative events (e.g., absences from school, teenage pregnancies) that lack the quantitative structure needed for meaningful, simple arithmetic. "It is almost impossible to think about numbers that are not equal-interval," Wright declares. He then proposes the obvious, deceptively simple, first step: produce better measurement - fundamental measurement. In other words, construct interval measures with the characteristics of the carpenter's yardstick, but obtained from the counts of qualitative events familiar to social scientists.

In the spring of 1960, Wright was the sole participant to attend all of a series of lectures given at the University by an obscure Danish mathematician, Georg Rasch. These lectures introduced him to the apparently incredible notion that linear quantitative measures - fundamental measurement of the type on which the physical sciences are based - can be derived from examinees' right/wrong answers to questions on intelligence tests. Wright has taken this idea further. As an internationally known exponent of fundamental measurement, he has broadened its theoretical base, widening its practical applications (the Australian educational system, medical researchers in pain and disability, and physical scientists analyzing qualitative data on river pollution levels - all employ Wright's insights), and instructing practitioners in its use.
John Michael Linacre

Measure of Quality Linacre J.M. … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 2001, 15:3 p. 835

Rasch-Related Resources: Rasch Measurement YouTube Channel
Rasch Measurement Transactions & Rasch Measurement research papers - free	An Introduction to the Rasch Model with Examples in R (eRm, etc.), Debelak, Strobl, Zeigenfuse	Rasch Measurement Theory Analysis in R, Wind, Hua	Applying the Rasch Model in Social Sciences Using R, Lamprianou	El modelo métrico de Rasch: Fundamentación, implementación e interpretación de la medida en ciencias sociales (Spanish Edition), Manuel González-Montesinos M.
Rasch Models: Foundations, Recent Developments, and Applications, Fischer & Molenaar	Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests, Georg Rasch	Rasch Models for Measurement, David Andrich	Constructing Measures, Mark Wilson	Best Test Design - free, Wright & Stone Rating Scale Analysis - free, Wright & Masters
Virtual Standard Setting: Setting Cut Scores, Charalambos Kollias	Diseño de Mejores Pruebas - free, Spanish Best Test Design	A Course in Rasch Measurement Theory, Andrich, Marais	Rasch Models in Health, Christensen, Kreiner, Mesba	Multivariate and Mixture Distribution Rasch Models, von Davier, Carstensen
Rasch Books and Publications: Winsteps and Facets
Applying the Rasch Model (Winsteps, Facets) 4th Ed., Bond, Yan, Heene	Advances in Rasch Analyses in the Human Sciences (Winsteps, Facets) 1st Ed., Boone, Staver	Advances in Applications of Rasch Measurement in Science Education, X. Liu & W. J. Boone	Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences (Winsteps) Boone, Staver, Yale	Appliquer le modèle de Rasch: Défis et pistes de solution (Winsteps) E. Dionne, S. Béland
Introduction to Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets), Thomas Eckes	Rasch Models for Solving Measurement Problems (Facets), George Engelhard, Jr. & Jue Wang	Statistical Analyses for Language Testers (Facets), Rita Green	Invariant Measurement with Raters and Rating Scales: Rasch Models for Rater-Mediated Assessments (Facets), George Engelhard, Jr. & Stefanie Wind	Aplicação do Modelo de Rasch (Português), de Bond, Trevor G., Fox, Christine M
Exploring Rating Scale Functioning for Survey Research (R, Facets), Stefanie Wind	Rasch Measurement: Applications, Khine	Winsteps Tutorials - free Facets Tutorials - free	Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets) - free, J.M. Linacre	Fairness, Justice and Language Assessment (Winsteps, Facets), McNamara, Knoch, Fan

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