Background: Meta-analyses of educational interventions have consistently documented the importance of methodological factors related to the choice of outcome measures. In particular, when interventions are evaluated using measures developed by researchers involved with the intervention or its evaluation, the effect sizes tend to be larger than…

Multiple-choice (MC) reading comprehension test items comprise three components: text passage, questions about the text, and MC answers. The construct validity of this format has been repeatedly criticized. In three between-subjects experiments, fourth graders (N[subscript 1] = 230, N[subscript 2] = 340, N[subscript 3] = 194) worked on three…

The relationship was examined between six scales of the Locus of Control for Three Achievement Domains (LOCITAD), the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and the Rotter Internal-External Scale. Subjects were 140 adolescent boys and girls. Significant correlations provided some support for LOCITAD's validity. (Author/GDC)

This study evaluated the validity of the Type A behavior pattern as measured by paper-and-pencil questionnaires. The Jenkins Activity Survey, Framingham Type A Scale, Thurstone Activity Scales, a new bipolar adjective Type A measure, and measures of achievement and nurturance needs were completed by 418 students. (Author/BS)

The Stanford-Binet: Fourth Edition and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children were administered in counterbalanced order followed by the Cognitive Domain of the Battelle Developmental Inventory to a sample of 30 nonhandicapped, preschool children (13 males and 17 females). Correlations (corrected for restriction in range) among the three…

The construct validity of three spatial ability tests was assessed by determining the correlation between the test results and student class grades in various subjects for 58 eighth graders enrolled at the Burris Laboratory School, Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana). Results do not strongly support any of the tests evaluated. (SLD)

This paper addresses the cross-cultural development and use of the Behavior Description Index (BDI). The development of culturally-transportable scales; cross-cultural comparisons of results for 12 Spanish, 15 Hungarian, 15 Indonesian, and U.S. managers; and the transportability of competencies as constructs are considered. A competency is an…

Classical measurement theory was used to investigate the measurement (psychometric) characteristics of both parts of the Finding Embedded Figures Test (FEFT) administered in either a "no guessing" supply format or a multiple-choice selection format to undergraduate college students or to middle school students. Three issues were…

The College Outcome Measures Program (COMP) and the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) examinations were evaluated as measures of the effectiveness of the general education program of the University of Tennessee (Knoxville). The criteria used to evaluate these examinations focused on their construct validity. The data were…

The construct validity of 290 preadolescent children's responses to 3 instruments claiming to measure dimensions of self-concept was studied. Instruments administered to the fifth graders include the Self-Description Questionnaire; the Perceived Competence Scale; and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scales. (SLD)

The psychometric properties of a paper-and-pencil instrument for assessing individual differences in cerebral dominance are explored. The instrument, Your Style of Learning and Thinking (SOLAT), contains 50 multiple-choice questions. The study subjects consisted of three groups: 235 undergraduate and graduate students, 124 undergraduate and…

The predictive validity of an original Piagetian instrument (the Piagetian Task Instrument) was compared with that of two frequently used published screening tests for children entering kindergarten: (1) the Brigance K-1 Screen, and (2) the Merrill Language Screening Test. The relative contribution of each test was determined when they were…

The purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss a set of standards that can be used to evaluate potential assessment instruments; and (2) to use these standards to evaluate the American College Testing Program's College Outcomes Measures Program (ACT-COMP) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Academic Profile. Using the work of S. Messick (1975,…

Classical measurement theory was used to investigate measurement characteristics of both parts of the Finding Embedded Figures Test (FEFT) when the test was: administered in either a "no guessing" supply format or a multiple-choice selection format; administered to either undergraduate college students or middle school students; and…