Subjects are asked to answer six questions, partly with a frequency and partly by marking a verbally anchored scale with five categories. Some univariate and multivariate analyses are performed to elucidate the relations between variables with the two different modes of response. Although there are similarities in results for the two types of…

The Situational Attitude Scale-Simplified (SAS-S), a simplified form of the Situational Attitude Scale (SAS), was used to measure the attitudes of 132 incoming white freshmen toward blacks. The study showed that the simplified form yielded the same established pattern of results as the regular SAS. This indicates that the SAS-S would be…

Three basic concerns in measurement were selected, and their importance for the classroom teacher were illustrated. These were test validity, reliability, and problems in measuring achievement gains. Test validity was dependent upon content, type and quality of the questions, adequacy with which the test sampled reading skills, and the care with…

The effects of play-like, verbal-feedback, and nonverbal-feedback testing conditions on three creative ability measures and the reliabilities of those measures were studied using 175 lower-class preschool children. The creativity measures were found to be largely unaffected by variations in testing conditions; but at the same time, different forms…

This study was designed to compare the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) IQ scores (Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance) of 120 16-year-olds, controlling for both practice or order effects and for intellectual level. Each test was administered to each subject, with an average interest…

Thirty-five disadvantaged Negro 4-year-olds were observed by one or the other of two white male child psychiatrists during a 30-minute play session. After the session, the observer dictated a descriptive summary of the session. He filled out a rating scale on aspects of the child's behavior, including speech and play behavior, nature of social…

Four conceptually different variables in reading: (1) knowledge gained (new information), (2) amount comprehended (degree of understanding), (3) reading aptitude (differences between individuals), and (4) reading improvement (within individual changes as a result of treatment) are discussed. Existing measures of reading comprehension are evaluated…

The concept of scaled achievement tests is discussed and a method of selecting those items of a test that form the most scalable (i.e., having the highest coefficient of reproducibility) subset is presented. Sometimes called a monotonic-deterministic model, this type of test assumes that the test items may be sequentially ordered. To determine the…

The Career Development Responsibility scale was designed to measure the extent to which students feel that reinforcement in terms of success in preparation-acquisition performance situations in a career are considered to be contingent on the student's own behavior. The 30-item instrument was written so that two items represent each cell of a 3x5…

An attempt is made to explore the use of subjective probabilities in the analysis of item data, especially criterion-referenced item data. Two assumptions are implicit: (1) one wants to obtain a maximum amount of information with respect to an item using a minimum number of subjects; and (2) once the item is validated, it may well be administered…

Livingston's reliability coefficients and Harris' indices of efficiency were computed along with the classical internal consistency coefficients, KR-20's (Kuder-Richardson internal consistency coefficient), for 678 criterion-referenced tests in the A through E levels of an individualized mathematics program. The coefficients were carefully studied…

The general purpose of this study was to determine the effects of similarities between stems and keyed choices on test difficulty. Unlike previous investigations of this undesirable characteristic of some multiple-choice items, the present study employed items that were unintentionally faulty and samples of examinees who were highly experienced…

The Behavioral Objectives Writing Skills Test (BOWST) was designed to provide an estimate of the elementary teacher's ability to write behavioral objectives. This instrument, which requires the teacher to develop three behavioral objectives for each of four hypothetical classroom settings, has wide utility as a teacher-training tool. It may be…

The development and preliminary validation of an instrument to measure attitude toward school subjects (GRASS) is described. An item pool consisting of 30 items was generated and refined. A 23 Likert item scale was then administered to 893 eleventh and twelfth grade high schools Ss. A principal component analysis and obliquimax transformation…

Measurement properties of the written rules tests were examined to determine their suitability for assessing driver knowledge and skill. It was concluded that the tests, as measurement tools for granting or renewing a driver's license, were not adequate. Recommendations for test improvement and a sample test copy are included. (AG)