Studied validity of the Career Decision Scale (CDS) for use by high school counselors in identifying students needing career services. Results showed that the construct or factor validity of an adapted CDS did not support its use as a measure of different components of educational/vocational indecision. (WAS)

Six interest measures and 15 ability measures were administered to 2,101 high school seniors in 19 vocational-technical schools. Computer-based score interpretation would have referred approximately 80 percent of satisfied/successful students to job cluster containing vocational program they completed. Results indicated that computer-based…

This study involves a correlation between two measures of creativity: the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and the divergent production subtests of the Structure of Intellect Learning Abilities Test (SOI-LA). A population of 263 junior high school and senior high students from Louisiana were tested with both the TTCT and the SOI-LA.…

This study examined the factor structure of a Chinese version of the Verbal, Math, Academic, and General self-concept scales of the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQII) administered to high school students in China at two time points. Responses of 487 students were used. Item scale correlations and reliability coefficients were good.…

A questionnaire developed to measure barriers to help-seeking behavior in adolescents was tested with 280 high school students following a pilot study. The instrument, Barriers to Adolescents Seeking Help, was found to have good test-retest reliability and adequate validity. Its use in identifying adolescents amenable to or resistant to therapy is…

The contribution of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to education is described, and the most frequently asked questions about its use are addressed. The SAT became a prominent tool in college admissions when the members of the College Board recognized in the 1930's that the Board's program of very specific subject-matter tests was no longer…

Some 1,620 Australian high school students responded to 68 items that measure adolescent stressors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop and test a model leading to the High School Stressors Scale. This scale, which has sound construct and predictive validity and adequate reliability, can be a useful instrument for studying…

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores and final course grades from over 8,000 high school students at 50 schools were gathered to determine the validity of ASVAB Form 14 for the prediction of high school course grades. Grades were collected for courses taken during the academic year in which students were tested on the ASVAB…

The Monitoring the Future study surveys high school seniors annually. Data from a special survey of high school seniors (N=1,050) conducted in 1978 designed to complement the annual Monitoring the Future survey were compared to data from the 1978 Monitoring the Future survey of approximately 18,000 high school seniors. Means and correlations were…

An aptitude test requiring 10-minutes' administration time was administered to high school students learning Forkner, Century 21, and Gregg shorthand for the purpose of determining test validity for different shorthand systems. Validity data were obtained from approximately 2000 students. Aptitude test reliability ranged from KR20=0.88 to 0.90.…

To determine to what extent competencies to be measured by the Alabama High School Graduation Examination were being taught in the Alabama public schools, a survey was conducted of teachers of grades 7, 8, 9, and 10. Competencies that were not being taught are identified and possible explanations are outlined. (Author/EGS)

This study is fourth in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using subscores from national surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. It extends the analyses of science achievement data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) through grade 12. (SLD)

This paper explores what a responsible test developer would do to support the consequential validity of a test early in the development process, and how the consequential validity of the program should be monitored and addressed during the life of the program. To illustrate the issues concretely, the validity of the American College Testing…

The purpose of this study was to provide evidence for adapting and generalizing the use of the Children's Academic Motivation Inventory (CAMI) to high school students. The instrument was originally developed to provide a reliable, valid, theory-based measure of academic achievement motivation; it was suitable for use with children aged 12-14…

This study, third in a series using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), demonstrates the usefulness of multidimensional representation of mathematics achievement as it extends analyses through grade 12. Findings support a distinction between mathematical reasoning and knowledge for two of the three test forms.…