Eighty unimpaired adults took the iconic-symbolic (I-S) subtest of the Muma Assessment Program under traditional protocols and revised instructions like those used in classic studies of classification ability. Only 18 functioned at the symbolic level as defined by the protocols; revised instructions more frequently evoked the expected symbolic…

This article suggests that mechanical application of Golden Rule-like procedures is inappropriate. The fundamental idea embodied in them, namely, that of taking issues of equity into account in test construction, may reasonably be done without doing violence to test validity. (JAZ)

Examined the validity of the Irrational Beliefs Inventory by administering various psychological instruments to 129 undergraduate students. Regarding construct validity, the Irrational Beliefs Inventory measured several variables measured by the Irrational Beliefs Test. With regard to concurrent validity, test anxiety was most strongly associated…

To investigate the claim that the Statistics Attitude Survey (SAS) contains a number of achievement-related items rather than attitude-related items, the SAS and the Attitudes Toward Statistics (ATS) were administered to 280 introductory statistics students. Results showed similarities between the tests. (Author/GDC)

Explored the psychometric properties of the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to assess its internal consistency and factor structure. Administered the test to Vietnam veterans seeking help at Veteran Centers. Demonstrated high test-retest reliability, sensitivity of .93, specificity .89, and overall hit rate .90…

Determined that special Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales (the Dissimulation and the Obvious and Subtle subscales) were slightly more effective in discriminating between malingering and genuinely disturbed male prison inmates than were standard MMPI scales. Found students', clinicians', and experts' interpretations…

Concludes that the lack of normative data, the suggestion that even one failure on the test (with approximately 111 items) makes a child suspect for "at risk" labelling, along with the brevity of directions and interpretation of data require that the test be used with great caution. (FL)

Discusses the suggestion that certain features of "real life" language use must be incorporated in any assessment of a foreign language learner's communicative competence. The validity of current assessment schemes, such as role play tasks, is discussed, and a case study of a role play testing situation is reported. (SED)

The Florida Court decision reaffirms a state's right to impose a diploma sanction when competency tests are valid. Testing specialists now have a precedent for demonstrating curricular and instructional validity. Competency testing programs are a useful method for implementing instructional improvements. (DWH)

Teacher education will probably continue to receive specific attention in the competency testing area. Professional educators need to apply the best knowledge and practice available if testing is to become a valuable and valid part of the teacher certification process. (CJB)

Analyses of test scores found statistically significant differences between subjects hearing "effective" vs. "ineffective" speaker presentations for both the Brown-Carlsen and STEP listening tests. Results suggest that variables such as speaker presentations positively influence listening test score results. (PD)

Cautions that criterion referenced tests are no more effective at diagnosing comprehension subskills than are traditional instruments, and they may lend false credibility to the subskill approach to comprehension. (AEA)

Hypothesizes that psychologists would give higher IQ estimates (1) to black and to Mexican-American children than to white children; (2) to lower-class than to middle-class children; and (3) to profiles with much scatter than to profiles with limited scatter. (Author/RK)

In order to clarify the concurrent validity of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) and the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT), product-moment correlations were computed for all subscores and total scores for 26 normal-range public school third-grade girls and boys. (Author)

This manual describes development and use of the revised "Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students" (SRBCSS-R), a teacher judgment instrument appropriate for use as one measure in the identification of gifted students. Part 1 explains the judgmental and empirical procedures used to revise the items on the original…