Fairbank, Benjamin A.2011-05-052011-05-051987Fairbank, Benjamin A. (1987). The use of presmoothing and postsmoothing to increase the precision of equipercentile equating. Applied Psychological Measurement, 11, 245-262. doi:10.1177/014662168701100303doi:10.1177/014662168701100303https://hdl.handle.net/11299/104061The effectiveness of smoothing in reducing sample-dependent errors in equipercentile equating of short ability or achievement tests is examined. Fourteen smoothers were examined, 7 applied to the distributions of scores before equating and 7 applied to the resulting equipercentile points. The data for the study included both results of simulations and results obtained in the operational administration of a large testing program. Negative hypergeometric presmoothing was more effective than the other presmoothers. Among the postsmoothers, both orthogonal regression and cubic splines were effective, especially the latter. The use of smoothing methods must be considered in light of their costs (increases in average signed deviations) and benefits (decreases in root mean square deviations). For many purposes, the benefits of smoothing with the negative hypergeometric may outweigh its costs.enArticle