This paper reviews a number of studies that have tested Fiedler's (1964) Contingency Model and Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale of leadership style and effectiveness, focusing on studies that have examined the characteristics and stability of this scale across age, ethnicity, and gender. The Contingency Model is based on three determinants of…

This paper presents findings of a study that sought to determine whether a composite score is a more appropriate dependent variable in the measurement of school effectiveness than any one component score. The viability of using a composite score, such as the School Effectiveness Index (SEI), was compared with the viability of using any one of five…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on assessing the learning organization. "Measuring Organizational Learning: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of an Organization Survey" (Jamie Callahan Fabian, Ralph O. Mueller, Dail L. Fields) compares two models for measuring four constructs inherent to Schwandt's model of…

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of using a model adapted from the instructional design and technology (ID&T) taxonomy model proposed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology Committee to build an ID&T knowledge base. The model was tested by mapping a random…

This report describes a methodology for increasing the validity and reliability of inferences made about the problem-solving ability of science students that is based on performance on different kinds of tests. The generalizable cognitive components of problem solving that might be targeted by assessment are described, and specifications are…

The ability of the Rasch model computer program BIGSTEPS to perform concurrent calibration and differences in the outcomes between vertical equating using a common item anchoring method and a common item concurrent calibration method was examined. The data for the investigation came from two Chinese language tests that researchers wished to…

A study examined the validity of using questions concerning retirement expectations in large-scale micro surveys. A simple static labor supply model that considered wages, hours worked, and health data was developed for this purpose. Next, the model was implemented using data from the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) on the Labor Market…

Empirical validation of the Self-Identity Development Model of Oppressed People (SIDMOP) prompted the choice of a multi-methodological approach that would test the underlying theory and not the participants' ability to perform a matching task. Few identity developmental models of oppressed people have been systematically developed, and even fewer…

A total of 1,071 rating sheets were completed by individual reviewers evaluating abstracts submitted to Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for the International Research Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland. Only 972 sheets contained usable data. Reviewers indicated a total of 12 ratings with possible comments for each abstract on machine…

A study examined a contingency model involving the factors of task characteristics, structural characteristics, organizational relationships, and communication processes and their respective components in regard to their relationships to job performance and their ability to predict job performance. Data were gathered from approximately 190 members…

To enhance knowledge of media consumption processes, a study compared the abilities of six alternative gratification models to predict media satisfaction, specifically, satisfaction with television news. The models were three different formulations of gratifications sought/obtained discrepancies--two emphasizing gratifications obtained and one…

The validity of the Training Benefit Forecasting Method (TBFM) in a quality-based electronics manufacturing organization was studied. Participants were approximately 75 people involved in the manual production of circuit boards in a division of Control Data Corporation. Five training options to reduce the number of defects produced during…

This paper reviews research findings which are contrary to or inconsistent with the view of early experience as a critical and often irreversible determinant of development. It is suggested that the increasing awareness of the value of a life span perspective is leading to major reevaluation of the role of early experience in development. The…

Two studies are presented in this report. The first is titled "Empirical Studies of Multilevel Approaches to Test Development and Interpretation: Measuring Between-Group Differences in Instruction." Because of a belief that schooling does affect student achievement, researchers have questioned the empirical and measurement techniques…

The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of measures of student writing performance across types of discourse (genres) and across response modes (selected response: multiple choice; constructed response: single paragraph, and full length essay). The study addressed the following: (1) the relationship/stability of writing scores…