Obtained reading grade levels for depression scales by use of two empirically based readability formulae. Results showed Kovacs children's measure had the easiest reading level, the General Behavior Inventory was appropriate for college-level reading, and most other measures clustered at a fifth- to ninth-grade reading level. (WAS)

The author argues for an expanded notion of intellectual giftedness which would take into account a person's ability to deal with nonentrenched (unusual or strange) tasks and concepts. This conception of intelligence is seen to be closer to that of creativity. Measurement problems are cited. (CL)

A discrete trials, operant tracking and a descending series procedure for the determination of hearing levels with three profoundly retarded young adults previously diagnosed as untestable proved quite workable and may provide for improved hearing testing with "difficult to test" individuals. (Author)

The purpose of this article is to review applications of reliability formulas and to recommend more appropriate methods of determining the reliability of affective instruments. (SK)

Administered the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) to 92 preschool children. Administered the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale to a sample of the group, and the results were compared to the results from the SIT. Results indicated the SIT overestimated the performance of average preschool children. (Author)

The author asserts that coverage of educational measurement issues in the popular press and in nontechnical education journals rarely reflects the concerns of measurement specialists. He presents the measurement issues surrounding minimum-competency testing and suggests that specialists work to make these known to the public. (SJL)

Traditional developmental protocols based on neurological or sensorimotor models frequently underestimate the cognitive status of physically handicapped infants. A critical review of current clinical practices in the area of infant assessment is followed by a discussion of an alternative approach, a perceptual-cognitive approach, and the…

A review of the literature regarding the utility of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) with learning disabled (LD) students was conducted. It is concluded that the WISC-R can be an adjunct to LD diagnosis and one step in educational planning for the LD student. (Author)

New as well as landmark instruments and research are described. Among the contemporary issues dealt with is a concern for the source of and methods useful in controlling bias in the construction of interest inventories. With the assessment of interests, as with all measurement, validity is the bottom line. (Author)

The effect of test content and context on the anxiety-intelligence relationship was investigated in a group-administration of an intelligence measure presumably free of anxiety-provoking cues, comprehension of cartoons and several conventional intelligence and achievement measures. Subjects were 177 boys and girls in grades 4 to 6. (MS)

Analyzes two methods of testing group differences of a latent variable: group code analysis and structured means analysis. Describes these methods in terms of conceptual representation, unique underlying assumptions, and relative merits and limitations; points toward methodological extensions beyond this two-sample case. (RJM)

Considers the situation in which content or administrative considerations limit the way in which a test can be partitioned to estimate the internal consistency reliability of the total test score. Demonstrates that a single-valued estimate of the total score reliability is possible only if an assumption is made about the comparative size of the…

Found, based on data from 28 states, that there is scant evidence to support the proposition that high-stakes tests, including high-stakes high school graduation exams, increase student achievement. Also found that adoption of high-stakes testing policies leads to increased dropout rates, decreased graduation rates, and higher rates of younger…