The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components…

A psychological construct, such as personality, is an abstraction that is not directly seen but inferred through observed regularities in cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses in various settings. Two assumptions give meaning to the idea of construct validity. First, constructs represent real phenomena that exist apart from the potential…

This article raises a number of questions about the current unified theory of test validity that has construct validity at its center. The authors suggest a different way of conceptualizing the problem of establishing validity by considering whether the focus of the investigation of a test is internal to the test itself or focuses on constructs…

The current research extended the three-factor (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) measure of achievement goals in a work domain to the four-factor conceptualization (in a 2 x 2 framework) by adding items to represent mastery-avoidance goals. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on two independent samples to evaluate…

Objectives: To describe the development of an original scale that measures perceived school climate for active travel in fourth- and fifth-grade girls and boys. Methods: The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to provide evidence of factorial validity, factorial invariance, and construct validity. Results: The CFA supported…

Students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons in school are important dependent variables in curriculum evaluation. Although a variety of instruments have been developed by researchers to evaluate student attitudes, they are plagued with problems such as the lack of theoretical rationale and of empirical evidence to support the construct validity…

The purposes of this study were to identify the essential dimensions of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and to establish a framework for assessing the ICC level of high school students that included a self-report inventory and scoring rubrics for online interaction in intercultural contexts. A total of 472 high school students from…

This study examined how 770 nonscience majors, enrolled in a core-curriculum science course, conceptualized their motivation to learn science. The students responded to the Science Motivation Questionnaire, a 30-item Likert-type instrument designed to provide science education researchers and science instructors with information about students'…

This construct validation study investigated the factor structure of the Test of English as a Foreign Language[TM] Internet-based test (TOEFL[R] iBT). An item-level confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for a test form completed by participants in a field study. A higher-order factor model was identified, with a higher-order general factor…

In response to the demand for sound science assessments, this article presents the development of a latent construct called knowledge integration as an effective measure of science inquiry. Knowledge integration assessments ask students to link, distinguish, evaluate, and organize their ideas about complex scientific topics. The article focuses on…

The authors present the development and the validation of the four-dimensional, twenty-five-item, five-point Kindergarten Environment Rating Scale (KERS). The Cohen's Kappa of the items indicates acceptable reliability for the instrument. The content validity and confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the data obtained using the KERS could…

This paper draws on semi-structured interview data and participant observations of senior secondary Physical Education (PE) teachers and students at two school sites across 20 weeks of the school year. The data indicated that the teachers in this study made progressive judgements about students' level of achievement across each unit of work…

Institutions of higher learning serve as a portal, through which opportunities for life, and potential for social evolution are intrinsically bound. The decision of who is allowed to pass through this portal is not only a defining moment for the individual student, but also a significant portent towards the fulfillment of social justice on which…

In this study, factor analyses were used to examine the structural validity of scores on the Personal and Academic Self-Concept Inventory (PASCI) in a group of 222 Black college males. Definitions of self-concept and how self-concept has been operationalized in Black populations were also reviewed. Results from this study challenged the…

This study evaluated the utility of the social competence scale (SCS)-parent version, a measure of social competence developed for children of elementary school age, for use with preschool-age children. Data were derived from two samples of preschoolers: a community sample assessed at enrollment to pre-kindergarten programs and a high-risk sample…