Psychometric Studies in the Validation of an Early Learning Curriculum.

Several studies of hypothesized hierarchies of early mathematics skills are discussed. These studies employed scaling and other psychometric methods for assessing hierarchical relations among learning objectives. Methodological issues in validating branching hierarchies are discussed, with particular reference to tests of disjunctive branches-instances in which learning either of 2 simpler objectives is sufficient for acquiring a more complex objective. The use of validated hierarchies in the construction of criterion-referenced placement and diagnostic test batteries are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]