Construction and Validation of Formal Reasoning Instruments

Abstract

This report describes the construction and validation of paper-and-pencil instruments to test for formal operational thought. Three structurally parallel tests in three content areas and four Piagetian formal thought tasks were administered to 90 scholastically above-average adolescents of 13, 16, and 19 yr. Items were six-choice logic items with abstruse and absurd content. The reasoning tests had substantial content validity, modest concurrent validity, and limited construct validity. These formal reasoning tests could be employed by educators to select students who are capable of abstract conceptualization and theoretically might profit from a curriculum emphasizing symbolic and verbal instruction and an abstract mode of learning.