Buros Institute of Mental Measurements

During the first quarter of the 20th century, testing became a big business in much of the developed world. Large numbers of authors and publishers started creating tests in fields such as education, psychology, and business to cater to an increasingly strong demand. Within about 25 years, more than 4,000 English-language tests were written and published. Many of these tests promised more than could be practically delivered and were formulated with only a vague understanding of the basic principles of measurement and statistics.

As a young professor of measurement and statistics at Rutgers University, Oscar K. Buros (1905–1978) became acutely aware of the insufficient technical merits of many commercial tests. In the early 1930s, alarmed by the state of testing and seeking to improve the overall quality of tests, Buros began editing a series of books that featured descriptive test bibliographies and critical reviews written by recognized experts in the field. The results of these endeavors became the Tests in Print (TIP) and the Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY) publication series. Buros used the term mental measurements to describe tests published in the broad areas of “aptitude, educational, intelligence, personality and psychological tests, questionnaires, and rating scales” (Buros, 1938, p. xiii). The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements was subsequently created as the organizational component to continue these publications.

Despite the pressing need for independent test evaluation, Buros initially found little financial support. By locating small grants, borrowing, and using his own funds, he was able to continue publication through the difficult years of the 1930s and 1940s. Financial pressures eased during the 1950s, when the TIP and MMY series became a recognized part of many university and public library collections.

After the death of Oscar Buros, his widow and long-time collaborator, Luella Gubrud Buros, moved the Institute to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Publication quickly resumed with The Ninth Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print III. At the present time, the Buros Institute is completing The Seventeenth Mental Measurements Yearbook (produced every 2 years) and Tests in Print VIII (produced every 3 years). In 2001, the Buros Institute introduced Test Reviews Online, a service providing ready access to a wide variety of information about and reviews of commercial testing instruments.

In order to fulfill the long-standing dream of Oscar Buros for an independent testing organization working to improve contemporary testing practices, the Buros Center for Testing was created in 1992. This new testing center brought together the products (MMY and TIP series) of the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements with the services (test oversight, evaluation, and independent psychometric research) of the newly created Buros Institute for Assessment Consultation and [Page 116]Outreach. Together, these institutes continue the work of improving both the science and the practice of testing that were the primary focus of Oscar Buros's life.