This study examined whether middle-class African American children (N=47 and ages 5-10) might improve their performance on the Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders (SCAN) when tested by an African American versus an Anglo American examiner. Examiner race did not appear to influence SCAN performance. However, a significant learning…

Discusses statistical procedures for increasing test unreliability due to guessing in multiple choice and true/false tests. Proposes two new measures of test unreliability: one concerned with resolution of defined levels of knowledge and the other with the probability of examinees being incorrectly ranked. Both models are based on the binomial…

This article describes the Gifted Education Knowledge Scale, a rating scale for assessing educators' knowledge about gifted education. Information about item selection, content validity, reliability, and internal consistence is provided. (DB)

The conceptual basis and development of The Suinn Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA) are reviewed. This study of psychometric strengths and limitations includes 16 published empirical studies concerning reliability and validity of SL-ASIA. Measures of reliability and methods of establishing construct validity are discussed, and…

The effect of removing nonfunctioning items from multiple-choice tests was studied by examining change in difficulty, discrimination, and dimensionality. Results provide additional support for the benefits of eliminating nonfunctioning options, such as enhanced score reliability, reduced testing time, potential for broader domain sampling, and…

Describes the development of the Georgia Autonomy Scales, an instrument used by student affairs professionals to assess the level of autonomy development of students. Estimates of the instrument's reliability and validity were judged sufficiently high to permit use with groups of students. (MKA)

A study involving 570 individuals with mental retardation developed the Screening Tool of Feeding Problems, an assessment designed to identify feeding problems presented by persons with mental retardation, and thus facilitate the process of identifying who would benefit from some type of behavioral or medical intervention. Psychometric data are…

Describes four measures of test unreliability that quantify effects of question selection and guessing, both separately and together--three chosen for immediacy and one for greater mathematical elegance. Quantifies their dependence on test length and number of answer options per question. Concludes that many multiple choice tests are unreliable…

Discusses issues in conceptualizing and measuring counselors' theoretical orientations to practice. Evaluates 15 instruments previously proposed as measures of counselors' and therapists' theoretical orientations, and examines psychometric properties and the utility of each instrument. Few instruments show evidence of reliability and even fewer…

Provides a thorough psychometric evaluation of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Provides a summary of the initial construction and development of the scale, followed by a comprehensive review of the results from various investigations on its reliability and validity. Concludes with ideas for additional research. (JPS)

Data on 11 samples of 1,012 toddlers used to construct and validate the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ) revealed that the component of negative affectivity (anger proneness and fearfulness) were independent, and item analysis suggested that shyness and other fears were independent as well. (MDM)

The calculations of D. Schretlen, R. H. B. Benedict, and J. H. Bobholz for the reliabilities of a short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (WAIS-R) (1994) consistently overestimated the values. More accurate values are provided for the WAIS--R and a seven-subtest short form. (SLD)

Reviews the results of four studies included in this issue of "School Psychology Quarterly" which found all four cognitive profile reports lacking reliability, validity, or diagnostic utility. Argues that ipsative methods are inferior to normative methods in cognitive assessment. Recommends that psychologists eschew the application of…

Discusses the development of the Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs-Preliminary 2 (MCSA-P2) Scale, an assessment tool to measure multicultural competence in a higher education context. Reports the results of two studies that investigated the validity and reliability of the MCSA-P2. Explores future research needs as well as applications…

Examines the reliability and validity of the scores of the Assessment of Academic Self-Concept and Motivation Scale (AASCM), a new instrument developed according to motivational systems theory. The AASCM was administered to African American, European American, and Hispanic participants (N=492). Presents evidence of the measurement's strong…