The purpose of this test is to evaluate a non-native speaking student's speaking knowledge of the basic structures of English, using the most frequently used words in the English Language. The test does not attempt to determine vocabulary level or student's ability to learn vocabulary effectively, rather the test focuses exclusively on aural/oral…

An issue facing researchers who study very select populations is how to obtain reliability estimates on instruments. When the populations and resulting samples are very small and select, the ability to obtain reliability estimates becomes very difficult. As a result, many researchers ignore reliability concerns and forge ahead with data…

The refinement process of a survey instrument developed to operationalize the construct of organizational climate by identifying and describing the dimensions of middle-level school climate is described in this paper. Seven dimensions of organizational climate were identified: administrative support, administrative control, teacher intimacy,…

The purpose of this study is to examine an option-weighting method as it affects pass-fail decisions in formative and summative evaluation of student achievement for instructional units, certification, advancement, licensure, admissions, placement, and selection. A database was constructed using high school achievement test data where a…

In coping with the problems that have arisen from the rulings of the Supreme Court on equal employment opportunities, a preemployment test was devised that combined miniature job training with tests which are content relevant to all who are tested. (RK)

As part of the development of a battery of tests to determine proficiency in black standard and nonstandard speech, a test, consisting of 20 items involving verbal and pictorial cues, was developed and administered to 27 third graders and 32 sixth graders. Results were analyzed to determine test reliability and correlation with other test scores.…

The pilot study, limited to 37 beginning shorthand students at Memphis State University, was an attempt to develop a "credit by examination" instrument. (MW)

This study addresses the sample error and linking bias that occur with small and unrepresentative samples in a non-equivalent groups anchor test (NEAT) design. We propose a linking method called the "synthetic function," which is a weighted average of the identity function (the trivial equating function for forms that are known to be…

The Gesell School Readiness Screening Test (GSRST) is widely used to identify "developmentally immature" children for placement in extra-year, transition programs in spite of a problematic absence of psychometric evidence and research support. In this study of psychometric characteristics of the GSRST, teacher ratings of classroom…

J. M. Richards (1989) has demonstrated that when individuals' reports about environments are aggregated to create environmental measures, the use of coefficient alpha to estimate single occasion reliability can be misleadingly elevated and that alpha cannot distinguish an environmental measure from a "disguised measure of individual…

The Listening Summary Translation Exam (LSTE)-Spanish is designed to assess the ability to comprehend and summarize in written English recorded conversations spoken in Spanish. Language and topics of the exam are representative of conversations the Federal Bureau of Investigation routinely monitors. This test consists of two subtests, one…

The original norms for the 40-item Stress Response Scale (SRS) were established on children aged 5-14 years and are reported by age and gender. While the norm group age range is appropriate for the clinical screening intent of the instrument, it is restrictive for studies that might examine the effects of stress on secondary school children or as…