Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breast health should be taught during the teen years. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of developing a revision of the Champion's Health Belief Model Scale (CHBMS), appropriate for adolescent females, which…

The revised two-factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) has widely been considered valid and reliable in many contexts for measuring students' learning approaches. However, its cultural specificity has generated considerable discussion, with inconclusive results when translated to different languages. This paper provides more insights into…

We evaluated the Portuguese version of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index 3 (ASI--3--PT). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (N = 603; 65.3% women, M age = 28.55, SD = 10.42) confirmed multidimensionality of the construct and the receiver operating characteristic confirmed the discriminant capacity of the measure between clinical and nonclinical…

The objectives of this study were to (a) verify the validity and reliability of a scale to assess skill levels to learn content knowledge (SLACK) and (b) develop percentile norms to assess the SLACK of adolescent students. The study included 2270 students (1134 males and 1136 females) ranging in age from 10.0 to 18.9 years old. A scale was used to…

The aim of the study is to reveal the preservice mathematics teachers' ability to determine the techniques of proofs on integers. A qualitative case study approach was adopted in this study. The participants of the study consisted of 172 preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary mathematics teaching program in their second and third years at a…

The development and validation of the 29-item Understanding Mental Health Scale (UMHS) is described. This new questionnaire measures college students' understanding of mental health issues. The authors also identified significant demographic differences in students' understanding of mental health issues. A principal factor analysis revealed a…

In response to the call for more rigorously validated educational assessments, this study used an iterative multimethod validation process to develop and validate outcomes from the 21st Century Skills Assessment global rating scale. Qualitative and quantitative data sources were used to inform four types of validity evidence: content, response…

Item Response Theory (IRT) has proven useful in physics education research to examine the validity of concept tests (e.g., Refs. 1-3) and online homework (e.g. Refs. 4-6), yet as a tool for the improvement of physics instruction (particularly exams), it is oftentimes perceived as (a) mysterious, (b) unjustified, and (c) impractical. This article…

This study aimed to develop a measurement tool in order to assess preschool teachers' pedagogical content knowledge regarding mathematics. The study was based on 300 preschool teachers working in formal independent kindergartens and nursery classes of primary/secondary schools in the Kahramanmaras Province of Turkey. Among the participants, 150…

Elliot, Murayama, Kobeisy, and Lichtenfeld recently developed a measure to assess students' self-based potential-approach and potential-avoidance achievement goals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure and criterion validity of this measure based on data obtained from a sample of Hong Kong university students. Results…

Response times have often been used as ancillary information to improve parameter estimation. Under the dual processing theory, assuming reading comprehension requires an automatic process, a fast, correct response is an indicator of effective automatic processing. A skilled, automatic comprehender should be high in response accuracy and low in…

A decision of whether to move from paper-and-pencil to computer-based tests is based largely on a careful weighing of the potential benefits of a change against its costs, disadvantages, and challenges. This paper briefly discusses the trade-offs involved in making such a transition, and then focuses on a relatively unexplored benefit of…

Theoretical perspectives and empirical research suggest that acceptance of evolution may be contingent upon what is evolving (e.g., plants vs. humans) and the scale of change (microevolution vs. macroevolution). The Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance (I-SEA) is the only instrument designed to measure acceptance at different evolutionary…

Background: Reliable and valid screening instruments for depression and anxiety are needed for adults with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Internal consistency (n = 198), inter-rater reliability (n = 41), test-retest reliability (n = 37) and criterion validity (n = 43) were studied in adults aged between 18 and 49 years. Internal consistency…

Purpose: Currently, there is no reliable instrument to measure naming abilities in bilingual speakers of English and French. The Boston Naming Test (BNT; Kaplan, Goodglass, & Weintraub, 1983)is a widely used scale for clinical assessments of language function, but it is not suitable to assess bilinguals. Rasch analysis provides a unique and…