The purpose of this study was to apply the tenets of social exchange theory in developing cover letters for mailed surveys. A survey questionnaire designed to measure teachers' attitudes toward tests was mailed to 1200 Kansas teachers. Cover letters were written to create variation in perceived cost (time needed to complete the questionnaire) and…

Based on seven years of surveying students, parents, and educators, the following conclusions were reached: (1) preliminary telephoning of graduates to verify addresses did not produce higher returns from those contacted; (2) cover letters printed on more expensive colored-letterhead stationary did not produce a higher return rate than the same…

The purpose of this monograph is twofold: (1) to describe the advantages and disadvantages of mail questionnaires as survey research instruments, and (2) to provide guidelines for constructing and utilizing mail questionnaires with a view to maximizing response rates and minimizing response biases. Construction of an effective mail questionnaire…

The Survey of Testing Practices was administered to 470 undergraduate students at Pepperdine University and the Univesity of California Los Angeles. The items concerned testing practices in three or four classes taken the previous term: type of test, test administration, class size, procedures for returning tests, test difficulty, and observed…

Two matched forms of a 50 item grammar test were developed. Twenty items designed to be humorous were included in one form. Inclusion of humorous items did not affect grammar scores on matched humorous/nonhumorous items, nor on commmon post-treatment items. Inclusion did not affect results of anxiety measures. (Author/DWH)

The goal of this study was to assess the relative merit of various ranges and types of response scales in terms of respondent satisfaction and comfort and the nature of the elicited information in a population of seventh grade students. Three versions of an attitudinal questionnaire, each containing the same items but employing a different…

College teachers often use norm-referenced classroom tests which are too easy for distinguishing adequately among levels of student achievement, yet they are reluctant to adopt more difficult tests. We explored the basis for current practices concerning test difficulty through informal interviews and questionnaires completed by faculty members and…

Adults' responses to a survey of television viewing were investigated to examine the premise that respondents assume that the range of precoded response alternatives reflects the researcher's knowledge of the distribution of opinions or behaviors in the population. Responses are, therefore, a function of the response alternatives provided.…

This study investigated the effects on the performance of different age group students of: (1) method of task presentation; (2) format of test questionnaire; and (3) the numerical content of the tasks. The sample consisted of 556 students from grades 7, 9 and 12. The tasks, used for assessing reasoning skills, were taken from the Video-Taped Group…