Oscar Krisen Buros

Oscar Krisen Buros (1905-1978) was the creator, editor, and publisher of The Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY) and Tests in Print (TIP) series, Buros began an editorship in the 1930s that would extend for more than 40 years and significantly affect the history of the commercial testing industry. Often referred to as the Consumer Reports of the testing industry, Buros’ Yearbooks have been extremely influential on the quality of psychological and educational tests.

Early life Oscar Krisen Buros was born on June 14, 1905, in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, the fourth of nine children born to Herman and Tone Buros, immigrants from Norway.

Higher education He earned a B.S. with distinction in educational administration and supervision from the University of Minnesota in 1925. He later attended Columbia University, where in 1928 he earned his master's degree in psychology with a heavy emphasis on statistics and measurement.

Academic career and achievements Oscar Kristen Buros is the creator of The Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print. His legacy of improving the science and practice of testing and assessment continues at the Buros Center for Testing. He planned to earn a doctoral degree in statistics, but the Great Depression prevented him from pursuing this ambition. Instead, he became a teacher and then a principal at an elementary school. He became a professor at Rutgers University in 1929 and remained a faculty member there until his retirement in 1965. He taught courses in testing and statistical methods for the Educational Psychology Department. The use of cognitive ability tests during World War I had paved the way for dramatic increases in psychological and educational tests. These increases were apparent in the late 1920s as was the appearance of books critiquing these tests. Oscar noted that many reviews of tests were highly subjective, with little quantitative evidence to support the positions taken by the reviewers. He wanted to do something to improve the quality and quantity of information being disseminated about psychological and educational tests and to encourage the testing profession to “step up” and monitor its own practices in order to better serve and protect test users.

With this desire for improvement in mind, Buros set out to publish the first collection of critical reviews of tests. Oscar's first attempt at meeting this goal took the form of The Nineteen Thirty Eight Mental Measurements Yearbook. In the foreword, Oscar expressed his hope that reviews of tests would lead to improvements in test manuals, descriptions of the technical quality of tests, and test-related research that ultimately would benefit prospective users of those tests. Portions of his foreword indicate the goals he hoped to accomplish and the actions he hoped to inspire through this series of publications.

Luella Buros continued her support of Oscar's long-standing goals of improved measurement and testing practices. Following a national search and offers from several prominent universities, the Institute of Mental Measurements transferred its considerable testing archives to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and book publication restarted. Now known as the Buros Center for Testing, Oscar's legacy continues there today.