This study compared four different approaches to identifying technical words in an anatomy text. The first approach used a four step rating scale, and was used as the comparison for evaluating the other three approaches. It had a high degree of reliability. The least successful approach was that using clues provided by the writer such as labels in…

The focus of this report is to summarize the research that has been conducted thus far on the new SAT Writing section. The evidence provided reveals that the new writing section has satisfactory psychometric quality in that its reliability is acceptable; it is significantly related to first-year college GPA and college English grades; it has been…

In the Spring 2003 issue of "Harvard Educational Review," Roy Freedle stated that the SAT® is both culturally and statistically biased, and he proposed a solution to ameliorate this bias. His claims, which garnered national attention, were based on serious errors in his analysis. We begin our analyses by assessing the psychometric…

This annotated bibliography was developed upon noting a deficiency of information in the literature regarding the training of raters for establishing agreement. The ERIC descriptor, "Interrater Reliability", was used to locate journal articles. Some of the 33 resulting articles focus on mathematical concepts and present formulas for computing…

The Bialer Scale and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale were administered twice, 4 weeks apart, to 526 students in the third through sixth grade from four public schools in a rural, predominately white, midwestern community. The association of verbal ability and the reliabilities of the locus of control scales were assessed in view of evidence that the…

The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the unreliability of difference scores and the power of tests of significance in an attempt to determine the validity of the paradox for the measurement of change presented by Overall and Woodward: that the power of tests of significance is maximum when the reliability of the…

Data from over 1,200 correlations reported in 38 studies concerning validity of aptitude and achievement predictors of success in high school vocational programs are summarized. Predictors investigated were (1) verbal intelligence, (2) nonverbal intelligence and abstract reasoning, (3) arithmetic reasoning, (4) spatial aptitude, (5) mechanical…

Item-test correlations are compared to item test-retest correlations as measures for selecting items in test construction. The author concludes that the item test-retest method is superior for item analysis which aims at getting shorter tests while maintaining test stability. (Author/JKS)

An important determinant of equating process efficiency is the correlation between the anchor test and components of each form. Use of some monotonic function of this correlation as a measure of equating efficiency is suggested. A model relating anchor test length and test reliability to this measure of efficiency is presented. (Author/DWH)

The main focus of this study was past and present performance on standardized tests compared to teachers' estimates of student performance. Teachers' estimates were good predictors, but teachers tended to overestimate students' grades. This may affect the worth of teachers' advice to students. (VM)

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' attitudes toward evaluation and elementary school climate. The instrument used in the study was the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ) which described eight dimensions of school climate. (Author/DWH)

The purpose of this study was to gather empirical evidence to compare the reliabilities and concurrent validities of multiple choice and true-false tests that were written to measure understandings and relationships in the same content areas. (Author)

Based on Huntington's Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University. Adapted from paper presented at Convention of American Speech and Hearing Association (36, Los Angeles, Calif., Nov., 1960).

Nine indices for assessing the accuracy of an individual's test score were evaluated using simulated item responses to a commercial and a classroom test. The indices appear capable of identifying relatively high proportions of examinees with spurious total scores. (Author/PN)

Initial assessments of the item characteristics, reliability, and validity of the Inquiry Mode Questionnaire (IMQ) are reported. The IMQ was developed by (Harrison and Bramson) to measure the characteristic thinking style of individuals on five major dimensions: synthesist, idealist, analyst, realist, and pragmatist. (Author/PN)