The present study describes the construction of a scale for reliably measuring the extent to which parents form generalized expectancies of the degree to which their children's behaviors are contingent on their own actions as parents. The original 72 statements included in the Parenting Locus of Control (PLOC) scale ascribed cause to one of four…

Ten replication studies based on quantitative procedures developed to measure motor and sensory/motor skill acquisition among handicapped and nonhandicapped infants and children are presented. Each study follows the original assessment procedures, and emphasizes the stability of interobserver reliability across time, consistency in the response…

The American College Testing Program (ACT) developed tests as a result of the College Outcome Measures Project (COMP). These instruments were intended for evaluation of nontraditional and traditional postsecondary education programs. They measure skills rather than information. The study was designed to check on several aspects of use of the COMP…

Three equating methods were compared in terms of magnitude of scale drift: equipercentile equating, linear equating, and item response theory (IRT) equating. A sample of approximately 2670 cases was selected for each pairing of a form of the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) and an anchor test. Of the two conventional equating methods,…

Fifty profiles of published tests of writing proficiency are compiled alphabetically with a thorough guide to indirect assessment of writing skill. The profiles are designed to facilitate a general screening of available test options. The elements included in each profile are as follows: test name, publication date, publisher, administration time,…

Factor analysis can be a valuable tool for assessing validity; however, the reliabilities of identified factors must be attended to. This study examined the impacts of item variance on factor stability and structure. The attempt was to determine empirically whether unnumbered graphic scales scored using a larger number of scale steps produce more…

The problem engendered by the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) Test is one of instrument integrity (II). II is delimited by validity, reliability, and utility of MFF as a measure of the reflective-impulsive construct. Validity, reliability and utility of construct assessment may be improved by utilizing: (1) a prototypic scoring model that will…

A common practice in the field of learning disabilities is analysis of ability-achievement discrepancies. The reliability of such difference scores is an important statistic in such decision making. In the study, selected ability and achievement devices were administered to a sample of 99 fourth grade low achievers (half of whom were identified as…

A live tailored testing study was conducted to compare the results of using either the one-parameter logistic model or the three-parameter logistic model to measure the performance of college students on multiple choice vocabulary items. The results of the study showed the three-parameter tailored testing procedure to be superior to the…

As alternatives to the objectives-based approach to specifying content domains for test construction purposes, six strategies are proposed: (1) amplified objectives; (2) Instructional Objectives Exchange (IOX) test specifications; (3) item transformations; (4) item forms; (5) algorithms; and (6) mapping sentences. Their effectiveness is assessed…

Generalized expectancies for problem solving referred to by Rotter appear to have significant relevance to the field of psychotherapy, particularly four specific expectancies of interest: (1) looking for alternatives; (2) understanding the motives of others; (3) long-term planning; and (4) discriminating differences in psychological situations. A…

Assuming that the density p of the true ability theta in the binomial test score model is continuous in the closed interval (0, 1), a Bernstein polynomial can be used to uniformly approximate p. Then via quadratic programming techniques, least-square estimates may be obtained for the coefficients defining the polynomial. The approximation, in turn…

Two studies were made of the validity and reliability of a Learning Style Inventory (LSI) for postsecondary deaf individuals. The study's a priori definition of learning style was multidimensional and included aspects of field dependence/independence and perceived locus of Nineteen students were administered the LSI and immediately interviewed on…

To help school districts comply with basic skills legislation, the California State Department of Education developed sample writing exercises and scoring guides. The exercises were modeled after Kinneavy's three categories of discourse: expressive--writer oriented; explanatory--subject oriented; and persuasive--audience oriented. The minimum…

A brief, nontechnical state-of-the-art review of four common instruments and current practices in the field of scholastic aptitude testing is presented. The instruments include: the 1971 Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT), 1973 Henmon-Nelson Tests of Mental Ability (H-NTMA), 1979 Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) and the 1970 Short Form Test of…