To evaluate student learning in a computer-supported environment known as "GenScope," a system was developed for assessing students' understanding and learning of introductory genetics material presented in two developed GenScope instruments. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to address traditional evidential validity…

This study investigates the amount of uncertainty added to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) estimates by equating error under both ideal and less than ideal circumstances. Data from past administrations are used to guide simulations of various equating designs and error due to equating is estimated empirically. The design…

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine if staffing changes were necessary at the information desk at the main branch of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (Ohio). Questions addressed included: (1) What times are busiest in the library? (2) Should there be changes in staffing the reference desk that could lead to…

This study compared end-of-year standardized test scores (CAT) of 204 children in 6 developmentally appropriate and 6 developmentally inappropriate kindergarten classes. Particular attention was given to the effects on test scores of the interaction of classroom type with sex, socioeconomic status, and race. Relationships between children's CAT…

The potential usefulness of self-assessment of low-level aptitudes, such as basic or elementary reading, writing, and calculating, was explored in a test validation context, following the model of B. Davey (1980, 1990). Self-assessments were sought to provide criterion-related or construct validities that might otherwise be unobtainable for some…

To determine if individuals other than first-line supervisors could be used as expert judges in making estimates of job performance worth when conducting a utility analysis, this study compared the estimates of experienced job incumbents with those of supervisors. The job class investigated was that of eligibility technician, who performs varied…

An Australian study and a Canadian study evaluated the ability of significant others to infer multiple dimensions of self-concept of university students accurately. Subjects were 151 Australian and 941 Canadian university students. Four factor analyses (self- and other-responses by Australians and Canadians) all clearly identified the 13 factors…

This study examined 10 educational outcomes reported by a representative group of 1990 seniors (N=536) who entered a public research university in fall 1986. The project tested an improved set of items reflecting scales of academic and social integration and of intellectual and personal growth developed earlier by Pascarella and Terenzini. The…

The validity of the Self Concept as a Learner Revised (SCALR) inventory was studied. The construct issue of academic self-concept was explored by comparing the SCALR to the academic portion of the Multidimensional Self Concept Scale (MSCS). The SCALR contains 44 items (four scales of 11 items each). The SCALR version for grades 7 through 12 was…

The role of item response theory (IRT) in determining the validity of second language tests is examined in the case of one specific test, the listening subtest of the Occupational English Test (OET), used in Australia to measure the language skills of non-native English-speaking health professionals. First, the listening subtest is described. Then…

Research indicates that establishing a secure attachment relationship in childhood affects later perceived social support (PSS). In order to test this relationship empirically and to gather comparative information on the separate elements of PSS, two attachment questionnaires and three measures of PSS were administered to 139 white males and 320…

City-as-School (CAS), founded in 1972, is a New York City alternative high school with a mission to link students to learning experiences outside the classroom. Since the 1985-86 school year, CAS has received federal funds for the CAS Replication Project, the goal of which is to promote and facilitate the adoption of the CAS model by other sites.…

As part of an effort to develop strategies for measuring institutional effectiveness, a study was conducted at West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVU-P), a two-year institution with an enrollment of nearly 4,000 students, to determine the most appropriate instrument for measuring gains in general education between incoming freshman (i.e.,…

A mapping procedure is presented for studying the construct validity of interest inventories that assess the six interest types defined by J. L. Holland. The 1989 revision of the American College Testing Program Interest Inventory (UNIACT) was used to assess the interests of 1,078 12th-grade students (497 males and 581 females) and 725 adults aged…

Pronunciation is an important subskill in second language learning, therefore worth evaluating. Its quality is commonly assessed in a global, impressionistic way by having learners read aloud. While this allows comparison of examinees' skills, ability to read aloud is a possible confounding variable. An alternative method is to have learners read…