Data are used from the individualized math component of an operating educational system to validate the basic assumptions underlying EDSIM 1, a computer simulation model that traces the interaction of three probabilistic elements in an educational program and produces synthetic output regarding this interaction in terms of student time in the…

Symposium topics and speakers include "Choosing Needs for Needs Assessment" (Stephen P. Klein); "Selecting Tests to Assess the Needs" (Ralph Hoepfner); "Making Better Decisions on Assessed Needs: Differentiated School Norms" (Paul A. Bradley and Dale Woolley); and "Allocating Resources by Subject Area"…

Traditionally, studies investigating the relationship between mental abilities tests and performance on learning tasks have attempted to establish a direct relationship between these two domains by use of factor analytic techniques. It is suggested that an alternative approach can be formulated in terms of an information processing analysis of…

Three levels of evaluation that can be used in the assessment of educational products and processes are: 1) Unvalidated Form of Experience, 2) Validated Form of Experience, 3) Direct Performance Evaluation. Each of these evaluation models is described in detail, and factors involved in selection of the evaluation model are discussed. (MS)

The United States Training and Employment Service General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), first published in 1947, has been included in a continuing program of research to validate the tests against success in many different occupations. The GATB consists of 12 tests which measure nine aptitudes: General Learning Ability; Verbal Aptitude; Numerical…

Defining course objectives and testing these objectives are inseparable components of the education process. The development of a model using eleven language functions as the basis for testing communication in a second language is described. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Masculinity and femininity were related to multiple dimensions of self-concept in responses from 962 high school students. It was found that masculinity and femininity each contributed positively and uniquely to the prediction of well-differentiated facets of self-concept. (Author/LMO)

The retention and attrition after the freshman year among economically and academically disadvantaged students admitted through a special program to an urban, primarily non-residential university is investigated. This paper tests the predictive validity of major constructs in Tinto's explanatory model of college student withdrawal. (Author/BS)

This study investigated how classroom teaching behavior mediates the relationship between personality and college teaching effectiveness. Instructional effectiveness was measured by end-of-term student ratings. Path analysis revealed that approximately half of the relationship between personality and teaching effectiveness was mediated by…

The Self Description Questionnaire II (SDQII) results from 901 Australian secondary school students were factor analyzed and the factors correlated to identify the relationship of self-concept factors to age, sex, and academic achievement. Findings supported the multidimensionality of self-concept and support the construct validity of the SDQII.…

This study employs a program evaluation method to collect intervention effectiveness data for a special education program designed to serve mildly handicapped students with reading difficulties. The potential contributions of effectiveness data to decision making are discussed within the context of a classification model. (Author/LMO)

This symposium is comprised of three papers on organizational learning, change, and socialization. "A Study of the Organizational Learning Profile (OLP)" (Rae Dorai, Adela J. McMurray) reports findings that show the OLP (Pace et al. 1998) is a reliable instrument for measuring organizational learning and its content validity is high.…

Web-based statistical instruction, like all statistical instruction, ought to focus on teaching the essence of the research endeavor: the exercise of reflective judgment. Using the framework of the recent report of the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Statistical Inference (Wilkinson and the APA Task Force on Statistical…

The use of modified essay questions (MEQs), developed at the University of Newcastle to assess clinical problem-solving, is reported. Reliability estimates as high as 0.91 were reported. The validity of assessment by MEQ was based on one model of medical problem-solving and another of cognitive skill taxonomies. (Author/MLW)

A brief history of developments in the assessment of the reliability of credentialing examinations is presented, and some new results are outlined that highlight the interactions among scoring, standard setting, and the reliability and validity of pass-fail decisions. Decision consistency is an important concept in evaluating credentialing…