The Satisfaction with Appearance Scale (SWAP) was administered to 165 burn victims. SWAP showed a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, r(a)=0.87); an 84-subject retest measured reliability (r(tt)=0.59). SWAP is both a reliable and valid measure of body image for a burn-injured population. (Author/MAK)

Item-discrimination indices are numbers calculated from test data that are used in assessing the effectiveness of individual test questions. This article asserts that the indices are so unreliable as to suggest that countless good questions may have been discarded over the years. It considers how the indices, and hence overall test reliability,…

To assess the reliability of congeneric tests, specifically designed reliability measures have been proposed. This paper emphasizes that such measures rely on a unidimensionality hypothesis, which can neither be confirmed nor rejected when there are only three test parts, and will invariably be rejected when there are more than three test parts.…

This study compared the mathematics performance of 434 second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students to previously reported fluency and accuracy criteria using three categories of performance (frustration, instructional, and mastery). Psychometric properties of the fluency and accuracy criteria were explored and new criteria for the…

The conventional approach for testing the equality of two normal mean vectors is to test first the equality of covariance matrices, and if the equality assumption is tenable, then use the two-sample Hotelling T[superscript 2] test. Otherwise one can use one of the approximate tests for the multivariate Behrens-Fisher problem. In this article, we…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the Medication Management Instrument for Deficiencies in the Elderly (MedMaIDE) and to provide results of reliability and validity testing. Design and Methods: Participants were 50 older adults, aged 65 and older, who lived in the community, took at least one prescription medication, and were then…

Much research has been done on the effectiveness of Supplemental Instruction programs, (Peer Assisted Study Sessions, PASS, in Australasia). Less research has emerged on on students' reasons for participating in PASS and their perceptions of the effectiveness of the program. In this article, we will report on a small improvement-focused research…

Background: National curriculum tests have been administered in England for well over a decade. Although reliability evidence has been published, critics have argued that there is not enough evidence (of the right kind) and that test results may be insufficiently reliable. Purpose: This article collates and discusses evidence on the reliability of…

The purpose of this research is to develop a performance evaluation instrument for green schools in Taiwan. The instrument is designed according to three sets of criteria: participation and partnership, reflection and learning, and ecological consideration. It also covers three operational dimensions: learning context, administration, and…

The present study examines the validity of the Dutch Children's Communication Checklist (CCC) for children in kindergarten in a community sample, in order to assess the feasibility of using it as a screening instrument in the general population. Teachers completed the CCC for a representative sample of 1396 children at kindergarten level, taken…

Interface design and ergonomics, while already studied in much of educational theory, have not until recently been considered in language testing (Fulcher, 2003). In this paper, we revise the design principles of PLEVALEX, a fully operational prototype Internet based language testing platform. Our focus here is to show PLEVALEX's interfaces and…

Background: The "Questions About Behavioral Function" (QABF) correctly identifies maintaining variables of challenging behaviour. However, for adults who have a long history of challenging behaviours, identifying one clear function of the maladaptive behaviour is difficult. Additionally, the person may develop multiple functions of their…

To adhere to the principle of "exercise specificity" exercise testing should be completed using the same physical activity that is performed during exercise training. The present study was designed to assess whether aerobic step exercisers have a greater maximal oxygen consumption (max VO sub 2) when tested using an activity specific, maximal step…

The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III) is a revision of the frequently used and well-known Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition (BSID-II; Bayley, 1993). Like its prior editions, the Bayley-III is an individually administered instrument designed to measure the developmental functioning of…

The assessment of students is used for various different purposes within an assessment system. It has an impact on students, teaching and the curriculum, the nature of this impact depending upon how it is carried out. In order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of particular assessment procedures, criteria need to be applied. This…