Although arbitrary, whenever multiple judgmental standard-setting procedures are utilized by different groups concurrently, stability across raters can be achieved and decisions can be made in a relatively judicious manner. Greater stability across methods (Ebel, Nedelsky, Angoff) may be effected by slightly modifying the Ebel approach. (Author/PN)

A theoretical model is presented with a review of supportive literature to establish the conditions under which desegregation and mainstreaming will result in constructive or destructive outcomes. Meta-analysis procedures examine all the available research relevant to the model, and point toward practical intergroup procedures based on the…

Reports on a study of a student self-assessment method in college biology, comparing students' self-evaluation, students' peer evaluation, and the teacher's evaluation criteria. Results illustrate potential problems in making assumptions about student ability to self-evaluate but also support previous findings about the instructional usefulness of…

A study comparing peer and teacher evaluations of British university biology students' (n=39) performance found such comparison misleading as a guide to the validity of peer assessment. When individual criteria were analyzed, agreement of peers and teacher ranged from 31-62%, with specific areas of the criteria prone to over- and undervaluation.…

Describes current procedures used for testing bilingual teachers in the United States and focuses on one means of assessment used in Arizona. Examinee questionnaire responses, teacher questionnaire responses and test section analysis all contributed evidence for validity. (33 references) (Author/CK)

Replicated and extended American research on overt and relational aggression with Italian children. Found that peer and teacher nominations for aggression and prosocial behavior were highly stable, although with very poor concordance between them. Peer nominations for overt and relational aggression were linked to peer rejection. Boys' scores were…

The development of a framework for analyzing pupil talk is described and the reliability of scoring transcribed conversions using the framework discussed. Definitions and examples of the terms used in the framework are appended. (Author/YP)

In a study with 13 social work and counseling interns, field supervisors' ratings of students' field performance were compared to an independent judge's content analysis of performance. Results revealed significant correlations between the evaluations, providing evidence of validity of the supervisors' assessments. Validity may have been enhanced…

High school graduates in regular (n=280) and special education (n=223) and their parents were interviewed. Parent-student agreement percentages were high for the variables of attending postsecondary school, employment status, type of residence, marital status, and number of children. Low agreement rates were obtained for salary level, hours…

Comparison using paired t-tests of parent and teacher ratings for 16 preschool children on the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale found no significant differences between parent and teacher ratings of expressive language, but a significant difference on the receptive language subscale. However, interrater reliability was relatively low…

Considers the interrater reliability of certified testers in five European languages, the relationship between interviewer-assigned ratings and second ratings based on audio replay, interrater reliability as a function of proficiency level, effect of different languages on interrater agreement, and interrater disagreements with regard to…

Article describes behavior rating scales and the difficulties in the use of cutoff scores to identify students as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Also described are how problems with interobserver agreement hamper the validity of rating scales and the subsequent conclusions that can be drawn about students' behavior. (RJM)

A University of Hawaii study compared objective and subjective assessments of the three-step triple jump examination which tests medical students' clinical problem-solving processes. Subjects were 58 first-year students. Results found the subjective assessments were more consistent across problems of varying difficulty level than were objective…

A study examined the usefulness of information secured from eight students displaying substantially more problem behaviors in one classroom (high-risk) than another, and 16 teachers. Students were able to provide reliable information in the functional assessment interview. Moderate to high agreement was obtained between students and teachers in…

Researchers sometimes need a statistical test of the hypothesis that two values of Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient are equal. The situation may involve scores from two different measures administered to independent random samples or from the same measure administered to random samples from two different populations. Feldt derived a test…