This study examined whether there is evidence in Hong Kong and Taiwan students' early attitudes to civic participation that suggests they will adopt radical forms of civic participation and whether civic participatory potential of students from these two Chinese societies differed in early adolescence. To achieve these purposes, we used a Rasch…

This work asks one simple question: "how reliable is the method used by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to estimate projected rates of VET program completion?" In other words, how well do early projections align with actual completion rates some years later? Completion rates are simple to calculate with a…

Based on the test theory model for ordinal measurements proposed by Schulman and Haden, the present paper considers correlations between tests, attenuation, regressions involving true and observed scores, and predictions of test reliability. Comparisons are made to interval test theory. (Author/JKS)

The DELPHI procedure requires respondents to reply to several questionnaire iterations with subsequent rounds containing previous round feedback. This study investigated the methodology (response rates, effects of feedback) and offered evidence that large-scale DELPHI surveys are not as advantageous as has previously been indicated. Suggestions…

Several areas of controversy between Soviet pyschologists and their Western colleagues concerning the usefulness of tests for measurement of mental ability are noted in this article. The author outlines test procedures suggested by Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky. (SM)

A tailored testing model employing the beta distribution, whose mean equals the difficulty of an item and whose variance is approximately equal to the sampling variance of the item difficulty, and employing conditional item difficulties, is proposed. (Author)

A procedure for scoring multiple-choice tests by assigning different weights to every option of a test item is investigated. The weighting method used was based on that proposed by Davis, which involves taking the upper and lower 27% of a sample, according to some criterion measure, and using the percentages of these groups marking an item option…

Employed were a small sample of fifth graders to examine techniques for assessing the validity of psychosocial maturity (PSM) and the scales used to measure it. Three validation techniques were examined: (1) Data obtained from self-report scales, teacher ratings, and peer ratings were used to generate three multitrait-multimethod matrices (total…

Measurement procedures used in Iran for the selection of college students are described. The pre-university system of education has no mission other than college preparation. In 1972-73 the higher education system was comprised of 158 institutions: eight universities, 54 "B.A. granting" colleges, and 96 junior colleges. In 1972-73, 13…

A general working model of cognitive development assumes that there are sets of orthogonal cognitive abilities, which remain fairly stable after age 7. This paper examines the long term predictive and diagnostic value of assessing specific cognitive abilities among preschool children. This model by empirical studies was defendable on the grounds…

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the American College Test (ACT) in predicting academic achievement of students from an area which is culturally, economically, and educationally depressed. The population, chosen from 6 community colleges serving the Appalachian region of Kentucky, consisted of 1,127 full time (12 or more…

This paper discusses issues connected with the reliability of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) in terms of behavior prediction, neonatal behavioral organization and stability, and consequent implications for study of newborns. Discussion focuses on: (1) reliability, and (2) prediction and neonatal assessment. The NBAS is seen as a…

A study compared a Modified Area Skill Survey (MASS) with a Modified Industry/Occupation Matrix (MIOM) method of projecting manpower demand. The comparison was made with regard to the bias and precision of the estimates of the two projection methods on populations of varying size. To achieve the comparison, each method was applied to the same…

The design of a school anxiety questionnaire is described. The model predicts a maximal relationship between anxiety and performance when type of anxiety potential, type of stress, and type of behavior are in parallel. The test, developed with intermediate school children, is a five scale 105 item multiple choice questionnaire with responses on a…