This study explored motivation and engagement among North American (the United States and Canada; n = 1,540), U.K. (n = 1,558), Australian (n = 2,283), and Chinese (n = 3,753) secondary school students. Motivation and engagement were assessed via students' responses to the Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-HS). Confirmatory factor…

The process of constructing assessment scales for performance testing is complex and multi-dimensional. As a result, a number of different approaches, both empirically and intuitively based, are open to developers. In this paper we outline the approach taken in the revision of a set of assessment scales used with speaking tests, and present the…

This study examines demands placed on evaluators by the Joint Committee on Educational Evaluation's standards. Twenty-two experts in evaluation rated the compatibility of implementing pairs of standards or rated individual standards on a series of scales. Multidimensional scaling revealed five demands of ethical practice. (JAZ)

The present study examined three different methods of data collection in which subjects judged proximity between object pairs. One method required subjects to partition objects into homogeneous subsets; the second entailed rating object pairs on a similarity-dissimilarity continuum; and the third involved comparing inter-object proximities to a…

Reports an exploratory study designed to describe the development of the scales, investigate concerns regarding student perceptions of a large university, and examine in a standard research situation the viability of a new method of multidimensional analysis (order analysis, proposed as an inferential alternative to factor analysis). (JT)

Ranking and rating methods of making direct judgments of pairwise similarity are compared. Three dimensional configurations of seven objects are derived under both judgment methods across two equivalent groups of 59 university students. Using Cliff's orthogonal rotation method of multidimensional matching, comparisons are made between methods…

This paper reports a factor analytic investigation of the interpersonal attraction construct. Two hundred-fifteen subjects completed 30 Likert-type, 7-step scales concerning an acquaintance. Factor analysis indicated three dimensions of the interpersonal attraction construct which were labeled "task,""social," and "physical." Obtained internal…

Used aggregate ratings of teacher behavior as data for a multitrait-multimethod validity analysis. Scaled ratings using Rasch latent trait scaling model and traditional scaling techniques. Compared Rasch-scaled multitrait-multimethod matrix to the traditionally scaled multitrait-multimethod matrix. Results showed Rasch scaling resulted in higher…

Longitudinal, student performance-based, value-added accountability models have become popular of late and continue to enjoy increasing popularity. Such models require student data to be vertically scaled across wide grade and developmental ranges so that the value added to student growth/achievement by teachers, schools, and districts may be…