ABSTRACT
The anchors, or response choices, on rating scales vary with the purpose of the scale, the decisions to be made with the scores (formative, summative, or program), the format of the stimuli (words, phrases, or sentences), and the respondents (students, faculty, self, administrators, or employers). “You're getting me dizzy from all of these decisions. Anchors, schmanchors. Is it too late to buy a scale or develop a test instead, which I know has a correct answer to every item?” Yup, you passed the point of no return after chapter 3. Now that you have statements, you need some way of reacting to them. That brings us to Anchorland, where I will fly around suspended from a cable shouting out the five most common types of anchors and then eight rules for selecting the appropriate anchors for different scale structures. Ouch! Those straps attached to the cable really smart.
