The purpose of this study was to develop and establish psychometric properties of the Sexual Orientation Counselor Scale (SOCS), an instrument assessing the awareness, skills, and knowledge of counselors working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations. The sample consisted of 287 undergraduates, master-level students, doctoral-level…

Argues that, in determining if a standardized test task and a classroom performance task are the same, educators should carefully analyze the tasks in terms of the input modality (stimulus) and the output modality (response). (FL)

A review of the technical data available on the 1972 norms edition of the Stanford-Binet demonstrates how inadequate these data are. The Stanford-Binet should not continue to be used in important decision making processes unless this weakness is corrected. (Author)

This article discusses evidence for functional behavioral assessment (FBA) procedures in terms of the meaning and interpretation of different forms of reliability and validity in FBA. It concludes that additional research needs to be conducted with various target behaviors across different settings to support the continued use of FBA. (Contains…

Increasingly neuropsychologists are under pressure, particularly in child custody and personal injury litigation, to justify the validity of the tests upon which their assessments are based. Reviews research on the validity of clinical opinions based on tests and concludes that test scores must be used in conjunction with life history and current…

Reviews four decades of research on test interpretation. No clear evidence favors one interpretation modality over another, though clients seem to prefer individual interpretations. Also examines client and counselor variables that alone and in interaction may affect test interpretations. Discusses issues that merit attention by both researchers…

Outlines research necessary for determining the validity and reliability of Test of Written English, an essay test that directly measures writing ability and complements Test of English-as-a-Foreign-Language's (TOEFL) indirect assessment of writing skills. Research should cover such aspects as construct, criterion-related, concurrent, content, and…

This article reviews the literature addressing uses of the American College Testing College Outcome Measures Program (ACT COMP), the most frequently used standardized measure of cognitive general education outcomes. It concludes that worthwhile evaluations of ACT COMP uses require well-crafted general education program evaluations. Recommendations…

Bayley's major contributions to developmental psychology are reviewed. These include her concern with measurement and methodology and her early anticipation of such topics as behavior genetics. Her work in such areas as androgyny and body build, motor and mental development, and maternal and child behaviors is summarized. (LB)

Qualities of strong families of children with disabilities are described, and assessment tools for measuring these strengths are reviewed. Empirical evidence for the reliability and validity of the Family Functioning Style Scale (FFSS) is presented, along with discussion of psychometric aspects of the test. Guidelines for FFSS use in interventions…

This article examines assessment instruments, measurement considerations, and factors that affect understanding of a child's creativity. It compares strengths and weaknesses of methods of assessing creativity and lists more than 60 standardized assessment measures. Procedures for using formal and informal measures in the decision-making process…

Reviews evidence on reliability and validity of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ); presents CBQ data on structure of temperament in childhood. Factor analyses indicate three broad dimensions of temperament: extroversion/surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control. This factor structure also appears in ratings of children in…

The literature was examined to find studies specifically concerned with the development of instruments designed to measure attitudes. Close attention was paid to procedures used to determine reliability and validity in the development and subsequent use of such instruments. An effort was made to select the most relevant literature from the vast…

Extensive research efforts in the past decade have measured academic proficiency and progress in both theory and practice of large-scale writing assessment. The following major situational variables were identified in these investigations: (1) topic variables such as writing prompts, subject matter, mode of discourse, length, and rhetorical…

In this paper 45 item-writing rules for multiple-choice tests presented in textbooks on educational measurement in a previous study are identified. The current study presents a quantitative review of the literature with respect to the empirical and theoretical evaluation of these principles of item-writing. Fifty-six studies that addressed at…