As part of a validation study of the Exercise Planning and Scheduling (EPS), and Goal-Setting (EGS) Scales, which were translated from English to Brazilian Portuguese, we aim to: present evidence of reliability and validity for the translated scale; and, explore the effects of non-labeled response categories of rating scales. The sample comprised…

Social emotional skills and competencies are integral to student success at home, school, and in the larger community. Extant research also consistently demonstrates that social emotional skill deficits are associated with various adverse outcomes. Universal screening for social emotional and behavioral risk in schools facilitates early…

Effects of rating scale forms on cross-sectional reliability and measurement equivalence were investigated. A randomized experimental design was implemented, varying category labels and number of categories. The participants were 800 students at two German universities. In contrast to previous research, reliability assessment method was used,…

Objective: Limited time and resources necessitate the availability of accurate, inexpensive and rapid diagnostic aids for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII) was developed for this purpose, but its psychometric properties have not yet been fully established. Method: The clinician-rated ABII, the…

The screening accuracy of the parent and teacher-reported Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was compared with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) classification according to (1) the Developmental, Dimensional, and Diagnostic Interview (3Di), (2) the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), (3) both the 3Di and ADOS, in 186 children referred to…

Mastery of fundamental movement skills (FMS) is an important factor in preventing weight gain and increasing physical activity. To master FMS, performance evaluation is necessary. In this study, we investigated the reliability of a new observational assessment tool. In Phase I, 110 video clips of children performing five locomotor, and six…

This study details development and validation efforts for a new strength-based assessment instrument: the Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales, Teacher rating form (SEARS-T). A large and diverse nationwide sample of more than 1,500 teacher ratings of students in kindergarten through Grade 12 was obtained. Factor-analytic procedures…

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Edition of the School Observation Coding System (REDSOCS). Participants were 68 children ages 3 to 6 who completed parent-child interaction therapy for Oppositional Defiant Disorder as part of a larger efficacy trial. Interobserver reliability on REDSOCS categories was moderate to…

Reliability and validity for three autism instruments were compared for 190 children with low functioning autism (LFA), 190 children with high functioning autism or Asperger's disorder (HFA), 76 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 64 typical children. The instruments were the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder…

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the intrarater reliability of "DSM-IV" ADHD symptoms. Method: Two-hundred-two children referred for attention problems and 49 comparison children (all 7-12 years) were rated by parents and teachers on the identical "DSM-IV" items presented in two different formats, the…

There are few existing or widely known measures of agreement applicable when data is nominal or categorical. Most such coefficients are applicable only when judges classify objects or subjects into a single category. A wider range of applications, including those where judges (1) place probabilities on subjects belonging to mutually exclusive and…

Prior research has indicated that items administered to college students for rating their instructors, can be empirically as well as logically classified on a continuum from very general to specific. Three of these hypothesized classifications of item specificity--global, general concept, and specific--were chosen to represent this continuum.…

The paper describes how certain questionnaire items concerning teacher-claimed behavior might define a teacher's effort to maintain order in the classroom. Subjects consisted of 255 secondary school teachers teaching in examination classes (Forms 3 and 5) at 15 schools in the District of Kuala Terengganu (Malaysia). The teachers responded to a…