Van der Linden, Wim J.Mellenbergh, Gideon J.2011-01-102011-01-101977Van der Linden, Wim J & Mellenbergh, Gideon J. (1977). Optimal cutting scores using a linear loss function. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 593-599. doi:10.1177/014662167700100414doi:10.1177/014662167700100414https://hdl.handle.net/11299/98622The situation is considered in which a total score on a test is used for classifying examinees into two categories: "accepted (with scores above a cutting score on the test) and "not accepted" (with scores below the cutting score). A value on the latent variable is fixed in advance; examinees above this value are "suitable" and those below are "not suitable." Using a linear loss function, a procedure is described for computing a cutting score that minimizes the risk for the decision rule. The procedure is demonstrated with a criterion-referenced achievement test of elementary statistics administered to 167 students.enArticle