The purpose of this study was to prepare a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate the objectives dealing with the behaviors expected in Part 1 of the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) physics course. There were six phases to the study: (1) identification of the processes, (2) selection thereof, (3) construction of instrument, (4) pilot study, (5) revision, and (6) validation. A questionnaire related to student academic background, as well as student records, were used to obtain measures of past scholastic performance. The most efficient set of variables for accounting for posttest variance was past performance in science and mathematics, scholastic aptitude, and sex. A factor analysis of patterns of posttest performance partially established the construct validity of the instrument. Since the selected individual difference variables were only able to account for relatively small percentages of the posttest variance, it was suggested future studies might consider a wider range of variables such as student motivation, learning style, teacher personality, classroom environment, and home environment. (Author/EB)