Instruments were developed to measure aspects of self-identity: sex role identity, identification with parents, and personal identity. The instruments were tried out and tested for construct validity. Analysis provided evidence that self-identity is developmental, as indicated by significant differences in personal identity measures among adults,…

Explores the practice of basing college admissions decisions on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) over conventional achievement tests. Suggests that the SAT does not reward diligence, and the SAT implies that secondary school instruction is unimportant. Supports changing the admissions system to reward those who learn most in secondary school.…

Evaluated two measures of social function in 195 older adults who underwent neurological, cognitive, and affective assessment. Found the Functional Activities Questionnaire superior to the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale in discriminating among functional levels and in predicting neurologist ratings and cognitive scores. (Author)

If researchers want to get at secondary students' true feelings and at their true usage figures of drugs, it is strongly recommended that questionnaires contain the "I now use..." category for anchoring the usage items and "I feel..." for soliciting general items. (RL)

Studied factors associated with family treatment: attendance and continuation as related to chronicity of the presenting problem, nature of referral source, initial clinical perceptions of family and predictions about termination, and family attendance in evaluation and treatment sessions. Attendance and continuation were not related with family…

Compared the factoral structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) for Anglo, Black, and Mexican-American children. Found high similarity across groups. The order of subtest difficulty was significantly correlated with subtest g loadings for Mexican Americans. Results provide support for Spearman's hypothesis with…

Reports on the development of a group self-reporting diagnostic reading attitude measure designed to assess instructional and recreational reading attitudes of elementary school children within a classroom setting. Concludes that the instrument is valid, reliable, and easy to administer and score. (FL)

Describes the development, validity, and reliability (0.91 to 0.94) of a 50-item, Likert-format scale to measure students' attitudes toward science in grades 4 through 12 (N=806). (Author/JN)

Selected offender classification practices, past and present, are reviewed. Megargee's requirements for a "good" classification system are amplified, and a critique of several current approaches is provided. The role of classification deficiencies in prison conditions litigation is summarized. Guidelines from commissions, courts, scholars, and…

Assessed reliability and validity for an instrument designed to assess depressiform cognitions. The results suggest that the scale is promising, however, a strong sex effect was noted in some of the characteristics of attribution. Suggests the need to evaluate sexual-cultural differences in attributional processes associated with depression.…

This article describes a procedure for developing and validating a criterion-referenced assessment instrument that will facilitate formative or diagnostic assessment of the concomitant theory and principles (cognitions) that underlie appropriate performance in a performance-based teacher education program. (Author)

Provides additional evidence for the construct validity of the Erwin Identity Scale (EIS). Provides information about interaction between identity development and college environment as perceived by students. Impact of academic environment and interpersonal campus environment were reflected by high or low scores on the EIS. (RC)

The test scores of college freshmen given both a multiple choice test and an essay test of writing skills were compared to assess the validity of a multiple choice test compared with an essay test. (HOD)

The response-shift phenomenon is demonstrated in a typical classroom setting. Retrospective pre-ratings in self-report instruments are shown to yield more accurate estimates of pre-instruction knowledge than simple pre-ratings. (Author/CM)

Reviewed research on the validity, adverse impact, and fairness of eight categories of alternatives. Feasibility of operational use of each type of alternative in an employment setting was also discussed. Only biodata and peer evaluation were supported as having validities substantially equal to those for standardized tests. (Author)