Measurement tries to answer the questions who, what, when, where, and how about the universe. Psychological measurement is primarily concerned with these questions for humans.
The manner in which we approach these questions is typically driven by our beliefs concerning why we exist. As you study the events in this timeline, keep in mind that humans of different eras answered the question of why in different ways. Their answer directs the questions they asked and tried to answer. Think in terms of broad sweeps of history when looking at this timeline. It is common for an event to require 40 to 100 years for its full implications to be revealed.
I begin with the development of language because that is a precursor to many types of measurement. I also include odds and ends of cultural events to provide context or contrast to events in assessment.
A bibliography for the chart is at the end.
I constructed this table for use by primarily undergraduate and graduate students.
To undergraduates: Don't try to memorize this table. Just visit it periodically to put material into context or to find pertinent links. Remember to use the "Edit...Find" feature of your browser to quickly move to an item of interest.
Like everything on the Internet, this is an ongoing project. If you have suggestions for corrections, clarity or additions or links I would be delighted to have them. I am especially interested in examples of events significant to measurement concerning women and diverse cultures. See info at end for emailing me.
If you have more general questions about tests I recommend you visit Frequently Asked Questions about Psychological Tests (http://www.apa.org/science/testing.html), provided by APA's Science Directorate.
or, for my own FAQ click here (testfaq.htm).
Key: Mg=Measuring; SS=Standardization Sample; " " indicate a book or article; APA=American Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org/); SIOP=Society of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (http://siop.org/); CEEB=College Entrance Examination Board (http://www.collegeboard.com/); NCME=National Council on Measurement in Education (http://www.ncme.org/).
| Date | Event in Assessment | Attributed to | World Event or More Info |
| c250,000 | speech and language emerge | ??? | |
| c40,000 | images on cave walls | symbolism | |
| 8,500 BCE | clay tablets & pictures used for record keeping | Notice the concept of record keeping. | |
| 3,000 BCE | first maps drawn on clay | Eventually maps evolve into graphs. next | |
| 2697 BCE | India ink invented | Tien-Lcheu, China | |
| 2200 BCE | Civil Service Exam | China | officials examined every 3 years for fitness. next |
| 2000 BCE | Earliest writing on papyrus, considered by some the oldest book. | the sage, Ptah-hotep, Egypt | "Prisse Papyrus" |
| 17-1500 BCE | early alphabet | Symbols replace pictures | |
| 1600 BCE | Sumerian scribes have responsibility for measuring (e.g., surveying, arbitrating disputes) | Amat-Mamu, priestess in Sippar, is an example of a career scribe. | She was a contemporary of Hammurabi and his famous Code of Laws. |
| 1200 BCE | Indian ink in common use | ||
| 1115 BCE | Chinese exam revised | music, writing, arithmetic, horsemanship, ceremonial rites of public/ private life | |
| 600 BCE | Hebrew alphabet | ||
| 400 BCE | Greek alphabet | written from left to right | |
| 347-323 BCE | "father of psychology". De Anime. | Aristotle | other bio |
| 220-206 BCE | test batteries used in exam for civil service. | China, Han | law, revenue, military, agriculture, revenue, geography, moral standard. next |
| c100s | proto-9 point rating scale suggested | Galen, physician | for perceived body temperature. next |
| 105 AD | Wood-fiber paper invented | China | It is kept a secret |
| 400 AD | Stable ink created | iron salts, gum, nut-galls gum; used for centuries. | |
| 600 AD | lowercase letters first used | required refined writing instruments | |
| 700 AD | Quill pen introduced | dominates for 1,000 years | |
| 711 | Spain gets secret of wood-pulp paper by way of Japan | not widespread in Europe until 1300s | |
| 859 | University of Al-Karaouine | Fez, Morocco | world's oldest universit, according to Guinness Book of World Records (1998) |
| 988 | Al-Azhar University, Cairo | Ismaili Fatimids | named after Mohammed's daughter. 2nd oldest university |
| c1000 | oldest known time series graph | (1 dimension is time). next | |
| 1008 | Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese aristocrate | she wrote "The Tale of Genji" considered the first fully realized novel. | |
| 1064 | University of Parma | Parma, Italy | 3rd oldest university |
| 1088 | "First modern university": University of Bologna, It was a law school | Bologna, Italy | 4th oldest university |
| 1095 | First Crusade. contact w/East brought algebra and other imports to West. | Pope Urban II | |
| 1117 | earliest reported nautical compass | China | enables voyages of discovery. (measuring direction). |
| 1169 | Ibn Rushd | translates Aristotle to Arabic. From there translated to Latin and helped instigate the Renaissance. | |
| 1211 | Genghis Khan | largest (in terms of territory) empire ever. Introduced East and West. | |
| 1219 | University of Bologna uses formal essay-type exams | oral law exams. probably 1st formal tests in the West | |
| 1348-1350 |
Clothes of victims turned to pulp for paper thus increasing number of manuscripts available. | The Black Plague, worldwide | Kills 1/3rd of Europeans. W/shortage, people are valued more. |
| late 1300s | Paper mills built, paper widely available | Europe | |
| c1350 | Clothing begins to express individuality rather than group membership. Bodies must be measured. | Europe | Buttons are introduced and allow individuality in clothes. |
| 1368-1644 | Multistage testing program. 3 stages, only 2 of 10,000 passed. | China, Ming | next |
| 1398 | Sungkyunkwan University | Seoul, Korea | Oldest University in Asia. |
| 1441 | 4 categories for students | Catholic University of Louvain | honor men; satisfactory; charity passes; failures |
| c1450 | Sufis in Yemen | coffee first brewed. | |
| 1455 | Invents practical, efficient system of printing | accelerates Western Renaissance | |
| 1492 | C. Columbus | "discovers" Western hemisphere | |
| c1510 | Proposed a test of mentality | Fitzherbert | count, tell own age, identify father |
| 1522 | Magellan | circumnavigates Earth. | |
| 1537 | Gonzalo Quesada | Introduces potato to Europe, eventually enabling more children to survive & some to work in factories. | |
| 1538 | Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | Oldest university in Americas |
| 1540 | Jesuits use written exams in their universities for placement and instruction | had to wait for readily available paper. | |
| 1543 | Introduces idea of collecting data directly from object of study. | Vesalius | Dissects cadavers for knowledge of anatomy. "On the Structure of the Human Body." Answers: What are we? |
| 1551 | National University of San Marcos | Peru | First university in South America |
| 1565 | 1st description of a pencil | Conrad Gleser | "Treatise on Fossils". History of pencil. |
| 1575 | Suggested idea of mental testing | Huarte, Sp. physician | intelligence= "docility in learning from a master" |
| 1578 | 1st known use of rating scale | Johann Hasler, physician | 9 point, for perception of body temperature. next |
| 1582 | Pope Gregory XIII | Established current Western calendar system (measuring time). | |
| 1599 | Rules for written exams published | Jesuits | |
| 1600s | 1st data maps. quantity replaces a name | Map shaded to reflect data. next. | |
| 1605 | Miguel de Cervantes | writes "Don Quixote" first modern novel. Can download from above link. | |
| c1610 | Suggested examining mental ability of persons accused of crime | Swinburne | "name days of week" |
| 1633 | Johan Comenius | Suggests that children need to play to learn and that affection was good for them. | |
| 1656 | First accurate timepiece (pendulum clock) | Christiaan Hugens, Dutch astronomer | Enabled scientific experiments. Punctuality is now possible. Answers: When are we. |
| 1666 | Isaac Newton | Law of gravity; Also figured out how to express change in math (calculus). | |
| 1674 | Antonie van Leeuwenhoek | a Dutch linen merchant, he was first to see microscopic animals. | |
| 1679 | Mg visual acuity proposed | Hook | |
| 1686 | use of symbols on a map | showed trade winds. next. | |
| 1692 | Collected quantitative data on psychological variables. 1st known psychology rating scale |
Christian Thomasius, German philosopher | 12 point scale, provided reliability data. next |
| 1700 | End of medieval era, beginning of scientific era | ||
| 1708 | Mg aesthetics proposed | DePiles | |
| 1733 | Idea of sampling error | DeMoivre | |
| 1750 | Mg reaction time proposed | Caldenius | |
| 1761 | First clock that worked accurately at sea. | John Harrison, England | Enabled calculation of longitude and thus location. Answers: Where are we? |
| 1765 | theory for graphing data in relational fashion (x & y) | John Lambert | done without analogy to physical world. |
| 1769 | James Watt | invents improved steam engine, starts the Industrial Revolution. | |
| 1776 | USA | independence declared | |
| 1779 | time series graph of soil temperature | Johann Lambert | back to 1st |
| 1780s | Described mathematical properties of normal curve | Gauss et al | zscores, standard deviation developed in this era |
| 1781 | Digit span used as memory test | Bonnet | |
| 1786 | Bar chart invented | William Playfair | next |
| 1787 | Quakers, England | launch 1st modern antislavery campaign | |
| 1795 | #2 pencil designation invented (medium hardness) | Nicolas-Jacques Conté | (No official standard for hardness exists today.) |
| 1799 | Measured normal vs abnormal cognitive functioning | Jean Itard | working with "Wild Boy of Aveyron" |
| 1801 | Pie chart invented | William Playfair | back. |
| 1803 | Earliest written exams at Oxford | ||
| 1805 | 12 point rating scale for perceived wind strength | Admiral Beaufort, British navy | 0=calm, 12=hurricane. next |
| 1809 | Theory on error in observation | Gross | |
| 1812 | First canned foods. No can opener until 1885. | ||
| 1812 | foundation for probability theory | Pierre Laplace | Théorie Analytique des Probabilités |
| c1825 | Showed that biodata fell into normal curve | Adolphe Quetelet | used heights of French army conscripts; he was astronomer |
| 1826 | Scale of Human Faculties used to evaluate children's progress | Robert Owen | New Harmony, IN, a utopian community. next |
| 1826 | Joseph-Nicephore Niepce, French | First photograph. A measure of place, freezes time. | |
| 1832 | Used exam to select employees | English East India Co | copied idea from Chinese exam next |
| 1834 | Studied how people detect differences between stimuli | E. H. Weber | |
| 1837 | Friedrich Froebel, Germany | first kindergarten | |
| 1837 | Seguin Form Board | Seguin, French M.D. | ran 1st successful school for mentally retarded, trained them |
| 1838 | Differentiated mental retardation from mental illness | Jean Esquirol, French M.D. | language was key |
| 1830s-40s | begining of labor and women's rights movements. Notion of individualism. | ||
| 1844 | Samuel Morse, USA | practical telegraph. The world begins shrinking more rapidly. | |
| 1850 | University of Sydney | Australia | Oldest university Australia |
| 1850s | written exams being used to decide award of degrees, entry to profession, government posts | ||
| 1851 | 7 point rating scales used by phrenologists | O.S. Fowler, phrenologist | in Practical Phrenology. Phrenology was discredited in 1830s. next |
| 1854 | plotted cholera deaths on map | John Snow, MD | located contaminated pump. back to 1st |
| 1855 | Competitive Civil Service Exam | England | next |
| 1856 | Eagle Pencil company | Alfred Berol | |
| 1859 | Charles Darwin | "Origin of Species" | |
| 1860 | Relationship between stimulus strength and strength of sensation. | G. T. Fechner | |
| 1863 | USA | slavery in US ends with end of Civil War. | |
| 1864 | performance examples provided for teacher ratings of students | George Fisher, England | to improve reliability. 5 point scale on academic subjects. next |
| 1866 | Gregor Mendel, Austrian monk | Discovers basic laws of heredity | |
| 1869 | "Classification of Men According to their Natural Gifts" & "Hereditary Genius" | Francis Galton | founder of individual psychology, related to Darwin. other bio. |
| 1876 | A.G. Bell | invents telephone, basis for Internet. | |
| 1876 | Thomas Edison | Menlo Park built. First institute created just for Research and Development. The first think tank. | |
| 1879 | 1st psych lab, U. of Leipzig, Germany | Wilhelm Wundt | founder of science of psychology. "Outlines of Psychology" |
| 1880 | US Census data analyzed with punched cards | Herman Hollerith, statistician | Hollerith 80 column cards used for extensive data analysis. next |
| 1880 | rating scale methodology introduced to mainstream psychology. | Francis Galton | "Statistics of mental imagery" Mind, 19, 21-318. possibly from interest in meteorology. next. |
| 1883 | The questionnaire is invented | Francis Galton | "Inquiries into the Human Faculty." |
| 1883 | American Civil Service Commission | USA | sample questions for LA, next. |
| 1884 | 1st practical fountain pen | Lewis Edson Waterman | replaced quill pen after 1000 years on top. |
| 1884 | Lab in Kensington, England | Francis Galton | |
| 1886 | John Pemberton, Atlanta | First Coca Cola bottled. | |
| 1888 | Testing lab at U. of Pennsylvania, USA | James McKeen Cattell | established mental measurement in USA |
| 1890 | "Mental tests & measurement" Mind, 15, 373-381 | J.M. Cattell | 1st use of "mental test" term |
| 1891 | Use of test-criterion method | Boulton | |
| 1895 | Auguste & Louis Lumiere | First movie premiere. Now easy to share culture world-wide. | |
| 1895 | criticize tests for lack of relation to everyday beh or to school success | Alfred Binet & Henri | another bio |
| 1895 | Discovers X-rays. | Wilhelm Rontgen, German physicist | Enables us to literally look inside ourselves. Not enough for psychologists. |
| 1896 | First modern Olympics | ||
| 1896 | Pearson product-moment correlation developed | Karl Pearson | other bio |
| 1896 | Tabulating Machine Co. est: sells Hollerith cards | Herman Hollerith | 100 years later H. cards lead to Y2k problem. 1924 part of IBM. |
| 1897 | Studied tests of sentence completion, memory span | Hermann Ebbinghaus | |
| 1898 | "Physical and Mental Tests" | J. M. Cattell | |
| 1900 | Sigmund Freud | "The Interpretation of Dreams" | |
| 1900 | College Entrance Examination Board | USA | see SAT |
| 1901 | USA | National Bureau of Standards established, now NIST | |
| 1901 | "Psychograph" phrenology measuring device | Henry C. Lavery | Curiosity that didn't work. Example of measurement deadend. |
| 1903 | Wright brothers | fly. | |
| 1904 | Applications of correlation | Karl Pearson | |
| 1904 | worked out fundamentals of reliability theory | Charles Spearman | "Proof & Measurement of Assoc. betw. 2 things" Am. J. of Psych. |
| 1904 | "Intro to Theory of Mental & Social Measurements" | Edward L. Thorndike | |
| 1904 | 2 factor theory of intelligence; conceptualization of factor analysis | Charles Spearman | general factor (g) & specific factors (s) |
| 1905 | Albert Einstein | Theory of Relativity | |
| 1905 | Huge growth in education | ||
| 1905 | Binet-Simon Scale, first IQ test. 30 ordered items | Alfred Binet & Theodore Simon, MD | for screening school children. Representative SS. rev. |
| 1907 | Reliability coefficient introduced | ||
| 1907 | 1st use of rating scale in research on intelligence | Karl Pearson | "On the rel. of int. to size...of the head." Biometrika, 5, 106-146. Back to 1st. |
| 1908 | Henry Ford | Builds Model-T car using idea of standardization and the assembly line. Mass consumerism is possible. | |
| 1908 | Binet-Simon, 2nd Ed. | Alfred Binet | Concept of Mental Age; 200 in SS. rev. |
| 1910 | Most industrialized nations have adequate water treatment and sewers. | ||
| 1910 | "The association method." American Journal of Psychology, 31, 219-269. | Carl Jung | |
| 1911 | 3rd revision of Binet-Simon IQ test | Alfred Binet | rev. |
| 1912 | Titanic sinks. | ||
| 1912 | Most successful English translation of Binet scale | Terman & Childs | on to Stanford-Binet versions. or Back to first |
| 1912 | Measures for evaluating emotionally impaired | Kraepelin | |
| 1913 | Concept of Mental Quotient (Mental Age divided by Chronological Age) |
William Stern | at German Congress of Psychology |
| 1913 | "Psych as the behaviorist views it" Psychological Review, 20, 158-177. | John Watson | Behaviorism |
| 1914 | World War I begins. 1st "modern" war with mass produced, assembly line, (?standardized) death. 5,600 every day. | ||
| 1914 | "The psychological methods of testing intelligence" | William Stern | paper on mental quotient |
| 1915 | First published multiple choice items | Kansas Silent Reading Test | |
| 1916 | Stanford Revision and Extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale. Stanford University. | Lewis Terman & Maud Merrill |
first English individual IQ test.1000 in SS. rev. "The uses of int. tests" The measurement of intelligence (chapter 1). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. |
| 1917 | USA enters World War I. Russian revolution begins. next | ||
| 1917 | Army Alpha & Beta. group IQ tests for military recruits. | Yerkes (APA pres.) & committee | Otis & Terman helped; based on Binet test. |
| 1918 | end WWI next. 90 million soldiers died. | ||
| 1918 | Absolute Point Scale | Otis | group intelligence scale |
| 1919 | major immigration to USA |
||
| 1919 | Illinois Examination | Monroe & Buckingham | group achievement test |
| 1919 | Use of tests in selection of persons for telegraphy jobs | L.L. Thurstone | |
| 1920s | USA | The toilet becomes standard in most newly built homes. | |
| 1920 | Woodworth Personal Data Sheet | Woodworth | 1st structured personality test. developed to screen military in WWI |
| 1920 | Seashore's Measures of Musical Talent | ||
| 1921 | Notion of validity | ||
| 1921 | idea of maximum likelihood | Ronald Fisher | |
| 1921 | Inkblots first published in Germany | Rorschach | projective rationale. next |
| 1921 | Psychological Corporation founded | James McKeen Cattell, Robert Sessions Woodworth, and Edward Lee Thorndike | 1st major test publisher |
| 1922 | redefines statistics | Ronald Fisher | sample stats, also invents ANOVA |
| 1922 | Lippman/Terman debate on testing | ||
| 1923 | "IQ is what IQ tests measure" | Boring | |
| 1923 | Stanford Achievement Test | Kelly, Ruch, & Terman | |
| 1923 | Kohs Block Design Test | Kohs | test of nonverbal reasoning |
| 1924 | Rorschach blots introduced to US | next | |
| 1926 | Porteus Maze Test | Porteus | |
| 1926 | CEEB | to predict college success. see norms rev. | |
| 1926 | Draw-A-Man Test | Florence Goodenough | |
| 1927 | Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) | Strong | rev. |
| 1927 | Test of physical/motor development | Gessell | |
| 1929 | stock market crashes | ||
| 1930 | world | Great Depression begins | |
| 1930 | Notion of content validity | ||
| 1930s | Standardized achievement tests considered superior to essay tests | ||
| 1930s | Increasing disatisfaction with structured (aka objective) personality tests | transparent to taker. projective tests increasingly popular through 1940s | |
| 1932-3 | Ukraine | 5 million starved under Stalin during forced collectivization | |
| 1932 | Investigation of Rorschach test | Beck | his dissertation for doctorate. next. |
| 1932 | "A technique for the measurement of attit." | Rensis Likert | Archives of Psychology, No. 40 |
| 1933 | Multiple factor analytic approach suggested | L.L. Thurstone | |
| 1933 | Progressive Achievement Test | Tiegs & Clark | later called California Achievement Tests |
| 1935 | Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) | Henry Murray & Christina Morgan | Example |
| 1936 | Iowa Every-Pupil Tests of Basic Skills | Lindquist | later named Iowa Tests of Basic Skills |
| 1936 | Vineland Social Maturity Scale | Doll | rev. |
| 1937 | Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Parallel Forms L & M | Lewis Terman & Maud Merrill | Forms named L for Lewis and M for Maud (Merrill). SS=3000 rev. |
| 1937 | KR20 & other measures of internal consistency reliability | Kuder & Richardson | "Theory of the estimation of reliability" Psychometrika, 2, 151-160. |
| 1938 | B.F. Skinner | operant conditioning | |
| 1938 | 1st ball point pen | Ladislo Biro, Hungarian journalist | |
| 1938 | "Primary Mental Abilities" | L.L. Thurstone | |
| 1938 | Raven Progressive Matrices | . Sample item. | |
| 1938 | Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test | Loretta Bender | |
| 1938 | Henry Murray | "Explorations in Personality" | |
| 1938 | "Mental Measurements Yearbook" | O.K. Buros | (MMY) Buros Institute. Reviews for tests. next vers. |
| 1939 | World War II begins. end. | ||
| 1939 | Wechsler-Bellvue Intelligence Test | David Wechsler | for adults. profile of scores, Performance rev. Eventually published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1940 | "Second Mental Measurements Yearbook" | O.K. Buros | (MMY) Buros Institute. Each MMY reviews new tests. next |
| 1940s | growth of applied psychology | ||
| war years | Office of Strategic Services (CIA predecessor) assessment center run by many prominent psychologists of day | ||
| 1941 | Norm group for SAT collected. | CEEB | N=10,000 from selective schools. until rev. |
| 1943 | Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory | empirical, structured personality test (MMPI) rev. | |
| 1945 | World War II ends with atomic bombs. 17 million soldiers and 60 million civilians died. Assembly line killing of 6 million civilian "undesirables" | ||
| 1947 | Bell Labs, NJ, USA | 1st primitive transistor demonstrated | |
| 1948 | Brothers McDonald | standardize restaurant business. | |
| 1948 | world | Universal Declaration of Human Rights | |
| 1949 | Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) | David Wechsler | rev. Published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1949 | "Third Mental Measurements Yearbook" | O.K. Buros | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1949 | Formal University training standards established for clinical psychologists | primarily testers | |
| 1949 | 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) rev. | R. B. Cattell | based on factor analysis |
| 1950 | Bic starts selling pens. | ||
| 1950 | classical test theory in "Theory of mental tests" | Harold Gulliksen | NY: Wiley |
| 1950 | "Ethical standards for the distribution of psychological tests & diagnostic aids" | APA | missing how to. supplied here |
| 1950-60s | USA | Civil Rights movement | |
| 1950 | Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank | J. Rotter & J. Rafferty | a projective measure |
| 1951 | "Coefficient alpha & the internal structure of tests" | L. Cronbach | Psychometrika, 16, 297-334. reliability measure |
| 1952 | Rod & Frame test | field dependence. description. | |
| 1952 | General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) normed | U.S. Employment Service | used within group norming. Back to first |
| 1952-3 | 1st ethical code | APA | many revisions (not all listed). |
| 1953 | James Watson & Francis Crick; Rosalind Franklin | Mapped the basic structure of DNA. | |
| 1953 | "Fourth Mental Measurements Yearbook" | O.K. Buros | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1954 | Elvis Presley | knocks on Sun Record's door. First "Elvis" sighting. | |
| 1954 | "Technical recommendations for psychological tests & diagnostic aids" |
APA, chaired by Lee Cronbach | adopted by National Education Association. rev. |
| 1955 | "Construct validity in psychological tests" | Cronbach & Meehl | in Psy. Bull., 52,281-302. idea of nomological network |
| 1955 | David Wechsler | rev. Published by Psychological Corporation | |
| 1955 | "Antec. prob. & the efficiency of ...cutting scores" | Meehl & Rosen | classic paper on base-rates. in Psy Bull, 52, 194. |
| 1956 | Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery | rev. | |
| 1957 | Soviet Union | Sputnik is first satellite. In US touches off emphasis on science education. | |
| 1957 | American Guidance Service established. | test publisher. | |
| 1957 | In-Basket Test | for evaluating managers | |
| 1957 | California Psychological Inventory (CPI) | empirical scoring, structured personality test. rev. | |
| 1957 | "Reliability & beh. domain validity..." Psy Bull, 54, 229-249 | Tyron | Integration of methods of estimating reliability |
| 1959 | "Conv. & discr val by the multitrait-multimethod matrix" | DT Campbell & DW Fiske | Psy Bull, 56, 81-105. construct validity |
| 1959 | "3 faces of intellect" Am Psy, 14, 469-79 | J.P. Guilford | Structure of Intellect model of intelligence, factor analytic model |
| 1959 | American College Testing Program founded | (ACT) | |
| 1959 | "Fifth Mental Measurements Yearbook" | O.K. Buros | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1960 | Stanford-Binet revision | rev. | |
| 1961 | "Tests in Print" | Oscar Buros | first of many. |
| 1962 | Rachel Carson, USA, marine biologist | "Silent Spring" initiates modern environmentalism movement. Ended blind faith in science and industry. | |
| 1963 | Joseph Licklider, psychologist | suggests idea of computer network: the Internet | |
| 1963 | Strong Vocational Interest Blank rev. | vocational interest; rev. | |
| 1963 | Myart v Motorola | 1st court case mentioning psychological testing. | |
| 1963 | Theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence | R.B. Cattell | obit. |
| 1964 | USA | Civil Rights Act; Surgeon General warns that cigarette smoking causes cancer | |
| 1965 | "Sixth Mental Measurements Yearbook" | O.K. Buros | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1965 | "Psychological Tests and Personnel Decisions" | LJCronbach & GCGleser | book; U of Ill press |
| 1965 | criterion-referenced testing | ||
| 1965 | "Standards for Ed & Psych Testing" 1st pub. | APA, | rev. |
| 1965 | USA | Congress. hearings on testing | |
| 1966 | "Standards for Ed & Psych Testing" revised | rev. | |
| 1967 | Personality Research Form | (PRF) | |
| 1968 | Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Adultos | (EIWA) rev. Published by Psychological Corporation | |
| 1968 | Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scales of Intelligence | David Wechsler | (WPPSI) rev. Published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1968 | SPSS is developed | Nie, Hull & Bent | They were Stanford U grad students |
| 1969 | Neil Armstrong | walks on moon. | |
| 1969 | "How much can we boost IQ & scholastic achiev?" | Arthur Jensen | Harvard Ed Rev, 39, 1-123 |
| 1969 | public outcry against Jensen | not just the ideas but the person | |
| 1969 | Bayley Scales of Infant Development | Nancy Bayley | individual test of development. rev. |
| 1970 | 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire | R. B. Cattell | based on factor analysis (16PF) |
| 1970 | USA | The first Earth Day; Environmental Protection Agency; Clear Air Act; and first liquid crystal display watch. | |
| 1972 | "Trad vs behavioral prslty assessment..." | M Goldfried & R Kent | Psy Bull, 77, 409-420 |
| 1972 | "The dependability of beh. mts: Theory of generalizability..." | Cronbach, Gleser, Nanda, & Rajaratnam | book: NY: Wiley |
| 1972 | Stanford-Binet revised | rev. | |
| 1972 | "Seventh Mental Measurement Yearbook" | Oscar Buros | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1972 | Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH) | Williams | an intentionally culture-specific test |
| 1973 | Org. or Petroleum Exporting Countries | quadrupled price of oil and instituted oil embargo. | |
| c1973 | Scantron Company est. | ||
| 1973 | Theory of vocational choice | Holland | |
| 1974 | Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised | David Wechsler | (WISC-R) rev. Published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1974 | "Standards for Ed & Psych Testing" revised | APA, | rev. |
| 1974 | Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory | revision of SVIB rev. | |
| 1974 | Revision Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery | Back to first. | |
| 1974 | Improved research foundation for Rorschach interpretation | J. Exner | Back to first. |
| 1975-78 | Cambodia | 1.5 million killed by Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" | |
| 1975 | Explicit criteria for evaluating low performing children | USA | Public Law 94-142, right to equal ed for all handicapped children |
| 1975 | Eysenck Personality Inventory | H. J. Eysenck | obit. |
| 1977 | "Componential theory of intelligence" | Robert Sternberg | book |
| 1978 | "Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures" Fed. Reg., 43(166), 38296-38309 | EEOC, Dept Justice, Labor, USA | standards gov. uses in evaluating personnel testing programs |
| 1978 | "Eighth Mental Measurement Yearbook" | Oscar Buros | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1978 | System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) | Jane Mercer & J. Lewis, social work | |
| 1979 | Larry P. case banning testing in California | USA | Judge rules: cultural bias against black children |
| 1980 | Smallpox is first disease officially eradicated. Killed 60 million in 1700s. | ||
| 1980 | Parents in Action on Special Ed v. Joseph P. Hannon | USA | Judge rules: no racial or cultural bias against black children in tests |
| 1980 | Assessment Centers popular | for evaluation of managers | |
| 1981 | M.D.s first identify AIDs | ||
| 1981 | Speciality Guidelines for various providers | APA | came with revision of ethical principles of psychologists |
| 1981 | Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised | David Wechsler | rev. Published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1982 | Michael Jackson | Thriller album sells 25 million in the USA. World pop figure. | |
| 1983 | Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Ninos--Revisada | (EIWN-R) rev. Published by Psychological Corporation | |
| 1983 | Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). (It's purple.) | Alan Kaufman & Nadeen Kaufman | Announced at a press conference with media hoopla-- portends a new era? |
| 1983 | Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory | Millon | (MCMI) rev. |
| 1984 | Bhopal, India | worst-ever industrial accident. 10,000 killed. | |
| 1985 | 1st "Test Critiques" | D Keyser & R Sweetland | reviews tests. from Gale Research reference works. |
| 1985 | "Standards for Ed & Psych Testing" revised | APA, | Commented on types of validity. Back to first |
| 1985 | "Ninth Mental Measurement Yearbook" | James Mitchell (Ed.) | (MMY).Buros Institute. next |
| 1985 | Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales | Sara Sparrow, David Balla, Domenic Cicchetti | Back to first. Another desc. |
| 1986 | Chernobyl, Soviet Union | Meltdown of nuclear power plant releases radioactive materials | |
| 1986 | Space shuttle, Challenger, explodes. | ||
| 1986 | Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale IV. Other info. | R. L. Thorndike, Elizabeth Hagen, & Jerome Sattler | point scale replaces age scale. Added performance tests. Back to first. |
| 1986 | "Guidelines for computer-based tests and interpretation" | APA | |
| 1987 | First global agreement to stop making ozone depleting chemicals | ||
| late 1980s-90s | Item Response Theory | ||
| 1987 | "Principles..Personnel Selection Procedures" | SIOP | |
| 1987 | California Psychological Inventory-2 | empirically scored. Back to first. | |
| 1987 | "General Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services" | APA | |
| 1988 | "Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education" | Joint Com. on Testing Practices | AERA, APA, NCME |
| 1988 | Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II | Back to first | |
| 1988-90 | Norms collected for new SAT | N=1,000,000+. see SAT I | |
| 1989 | Exxon Valdez runs aground in Alaska. Pro-democracy demonstrators are massacred in Tiananmen Square, PRC. | ||
| 1989-92 | end of Communism in the West | ||
| 1989 | "Tenth Mental Measurement Yearbook" | Jane Conoley & Jack Kramer (Eds.) | (MMY).Buros Institute. rev. |
| 1989 | Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 | J. N Butcher | |
| 1989 | "Guidelines and ethical considerations for assessment center operations" | Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines | |
| 1990 | USA | Human Genome Project: effort to decipher human DNA chemistry | |
| 1990-1 | Iraq invades Kuwait. Desert Storm. | ||
| 1990 | Tim Berners-Lee | World Wide Web invented | |
| 1990 | Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scales of Intelligence-Revised | (WPPSI-R). Back to first. Published by Psychological Corporation | |
| 1990 | "Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services to Ethnic, Linguistic, and Culturally Diverse Populations" | APA | |
| 1990 | Connor's Rating Scales | C. Connor | scales for attention-deficit hyperactivity. |
| 1990 | Disabilities and testing. | USA | Americans with Disability Act passed. |
| 1990 | "Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students" | AFT, NCME, NEA | |
| 1991 | Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-III | Aurelio Prifitera | (WISC-III). rev. Published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1992 | Whitney Houston | "The Bodyguard" album sells 16 million in USA. | |
| 1992 | "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct" | APA | Am Psy, 47, 1597-1611. |
| 1992 | "11th Mental Measurement Yearbook" | Jack Kramer & Jane Conoley (Eds.) | (MMY).Buros Institute. rev. |
| 1993 | Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Ninos--Revisada de Puerto Rico | (EIWN-R PR) Back to first. Published by Psychological Corporation | |
| 1993 | "Guidelines for computer-based tests and interpretations." | APA | |
| 1993 | Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd Ed. | James Gyurke | . Back to first. |
| 1994 | Hootie & the Blowfish | "Cracked Rear View" album sells 15 million in USA. | |
| 1994 | Rwanda, Africa | 1 million Tutsi murdered by Hutu. | |
| 1994 | latest revision of SVIB; 1 of most researched tests. Back to first. | ||
| 1994 | Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings | APA | |
| 1994-5 | Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I). Sample items. | CEEB | new norms used. M=500, sd approx 110. SAT II is subject area tests |
| 1995 | "12th Mental Measurement Yearbook" | Jane Conoley & James Impara | (MMY).Buros Institute. rev. |
| 1995 | "Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement " | NCME | |
| 1995 | "Guidelines for computerized-adaptive test (CAT) development and use in education" | American Council on Education | |
| 1996 | Statement on the Disclosure of Test Data | APA | |
| 1996 | Tests, vol. 4 | Taddy Maddox | |
| 1997 | IBM computer beats human chess champion, Kasparov. | ||
| 1997 | Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III) | David Tulsky & Jianjun Zhu | Sample Verbal items. Prfce items. Back to first. Published by Psychological Corporation |
| 1997 | "Competency Standards in Student Assessment for Educational Administrators" | AASA, NAESP, NASSP, NCME | |
| 1998 | "13th Mental Measurement Yearbook" | James Impara & Barbara Plake | (MMY).Buros Institute. Back to first. |
| 1998 | Guidelines for the Evaluation of Dementia and Age-Related Cognitive Decline | APA | |
| 1998 | Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters | APA | |
| 2000 | World | unified celebration of millenium (1 year early). (Y2K "bug" causes few problems as programmers worked around the clock. see.) | |
| 2000 | USA | Presidential election stymied by punch card voting. see. | |
| 2001 | Terrorists fly two planes into Twin Towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon, another crashes in Pennsylvania. | World | |
| 2003 | Paul Meehl dies | Information on Paul Meehl |
Bibliography
Bellis, Mary. (1999). Individual inventions. A brief history of writing instruments. The battle of the ball-point pens. The fountain pen. The history of the pencil. http://inventors.miningco.com/msub12.htm. (19 Jan. 1999)
Friedman, R. (Ed.) The Life millenium: The 100 most important events and people of the past 1,000 years. NY: Life Books.
Kaplan, R. & Saccuzzo, D. (1997). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Pacific Groves, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub.
Leon, V. (1995). Uppity women of ancient times. New York: MJF Books.
McReynolds, P. & Ludwig, K. (1987). On the history of the rating scale. Personality and individual differences, 8(2), 281-283.
Murphy, K. & Davidshofer, C. (1998). Psychological testing: Principles and applications, 4th Ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
O'Connor, J. & Robertson, E. (1996). MacTutor history of mathematics archive.http://history.math.csusb.edu/index.html (24 Jan. 1999).
Plucker, J. (1998). History of influences in the development of intelligence theory and testing. http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/index.html. (17 Jan. 1999).
Rogers, T. (1995). The psychological testing enterprise: An introduction. Pacific Groves, CA: Brooks/Cole Pub.
Sattler, J. (1988). Assessment of children. San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler, Pub.
Tufte, E. (1983). The display of quantitative information. Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press.
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