Two tests were created from a standardized reading achievement test and vertically equated using a sample of third and fourth grade students. Based on differences in ability estimates for the same student, the Rasch model did not provide a satisfactory means of vertical equating. (Author/CM)

The National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Force Behavior concluded that underprivileged youth lack occupational information. But the Knowledge of the World of Work Test administered to the young people surveyed does not appear to be reliable. (SK)

The factorial validity and internal consistency reliability of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale were examined with a random sample of elementary school children. Given the problem of multicollinearity that was shown to exist among subscales, the authors suggest caution in the interpretation of Devereux subscales as discrete…

The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale was administered to 534 children (grades 4-6) at the beginning and end of the school year. The total anxiety score correlated .68 across the nine-month period, supporting the temporal stability of the test. (Author/BW)

Results in the engineering literature on "k out of n system reliability" can be used to characterize tests based on estimates of the probability of correctly determining whether the examinee knows the correct response. In particular, the minimum number of distractors required for multiple-choice tests can be empirically determined.…

Two hundred seventy-four boys and girls, aged 7 through 15 years, participated in a test-retest reliability study of the Developmental Tests of Visual-Motor Association. Test-retest correlations for the total group and subjects comprising categories A through D were significant. (Author/SJL)

The purpose of this article is to review applications of reliability formulas and to recommend more appropriate methods of determining the reliability of affective instruments. (SK)

Formulas for the standard error of measurement of three measures of change (simple differences; residualized difference scores; and a measure introduced by Tucker, Damarin, and Messick) are derived. A practical guide for determining the relative error of the three measures is developed. (Author/JKS)

This paper examines the properties of the Item Efficiency Index proposed by Neill and Jackson (1976; EJ 137 077) for minimum redundancy item analysis. (Author/BW)

Some procedures for estimating internal consistency reliability may be superior mathematically to the more commonly used methods such as Coefficient Alpha. One problem is computational difficulty; the other is the possibility of overestimation due to capitalization on chance. (Author/CTM)

Both the binomial and beta-binomial models are applied to various problems occurring in mental test theory. The paper reviews and critiques these models. The emphasis is on the extensions of the models that have been proposed in recent years, and that might not be familiar to many educators. (Author)

The temporal stability of three levels (primary I, primary II, and elementary) of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) when administered to children with learning disabilities was investigated. It was concluded that the MAT is reliable when used with learning disabled children. (Author/SBH)

Power analysis is in essence a technique for estimating the probability of obtaining a specific minimum observed effect size. Power analysis techniques are applied to research planning problems in test reliability studies. A table for use in research planning and hypothesis testing is presented. (Author)

Evaluated the effectiveness of 13 different Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory taking direction techniques. Results indicated that from 10 percent to 81 percent of the variance associated with faking can be accounted for by various detection strategies. These techniques are recommended for clinical use. (Author)

Item endorsement rates and reliability of the Smith Quick Measure of Achievement Motivation were studied. Concluded that the scale may have too little variance to discriminate college students on achievement motivation and that, for students, one item may be inappropriately keyed. (Author)