The present study examined the comparability of 4 alternate forms of the Digit Symbol Substitution test and the Symbol Digit Modalities (written) test, including the original versions. Male contact-sport athletes (N=112) were assessed on 1 of the 4 forms of each test. Reasonable alternate form comparability was demonstrated through establishing…

To address criticisms that the empirical literature on assessment of career decision making has tended to lack a theoretical base, the present study explored the relevance of a general theory of decision making to career decision making by assessing the psychometric properties of the Decision Making Inventory (DMI), designed to measure Johnson's…

The utility of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet,& Farley, 1988) was investigated within a sample of 290 Mexican American adolescents. Results suggested that the three-subscale structure (Family, Friends, and Significant Other) of the MSPSS was confirmed, and adequate internal reliability for the…

This study aims to advance our understanding of the assessment of numerous factors associated with recidivism among females and males involved in the juvenile justice system. In particular, this study examined the reliability (i.e., inter-rater) and validity (i.e., construct, criterion, and predictive) of the Santa Barbara Assets and Risks…

A new sharing item response theory (SIRT) model is presented that explicitly models the effects of sharing item content between informants and test takers. This model is used to construct adaptive item selection and scoring rules that provide increased precision and reduced score gains in instances where sharing occurs. The adaptive item selection…

Background: The Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL-Q) is used widely to evaluate the quality of life of persons with intellectual disability (ID). Its validity for use with Spanish-speaking cultures has been demonstrated for individuals with visual disabilities, but not for those with physical or intellectual disabilities. Such was the purpose of…

Technical characteristics of Slosson Phonics and Structural Analysis Test (SP-SAT) scores were studied using three independent samples of boys and girls aged 6 years, 6 months, through 9 years, 11 months. A decision efficiency study (n = 100) resulted in a total predictive value of .86 (sensitivity = .95, specificity = .77, positive predictive…

This article reports on findings obtained from an online survey answered by 97 foreign language department chairs. The Web survey was pilot tested for validity and reliability and obtained a Cronbach's reliability coefficient of .80. The results suggest that student learning outcomes assessment in American undergraduate foreign language education…

This paper reports on a 3-year, NSF-funded research and development project called ACED: Adaptive Content with Evidence-based Diagnosis. The purpose of the project was to design, develop, and evaluate an assessment for learning (AfL) system for diverse students, using Algebra I content related to geometric sequences (i.e., successive numbers…

Because 3rd Grade Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores have a direct impact on promotion, the results for that grade level are released early by the State. When the FCAT results for 3rd Grade were released in May 2007, many people were troubled. Over 80% of the elementary schools in the Miami-Dade School District showed a decrease…

In this study, we describe the development of measures used to examine pupils' attitudes towards science. In particular, separate measures for attitudes towards the following areas were developed: learning science in school, practical work in science, science outside of school, importance of science, self-concept in science, and future…

Psychometric properties are described for an inventory that measures the daily rewards and worries that parents experience as their sons and daughters transition to adulthood. In a series of 4 studies involving 847 respondents, we explored and confirmed the factor structure of the Transition Daily Rewards and Worries Questionnaire (TDRWQ) in a…

This study presents the development of a new instrument, the "Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities" (MAS). Based on the multidimensional approach, it posits that attitudes are composed of three dimensions: affect, cognition, and behavior. The scale was distributed to a sample of 132 people along with a…

Discussed is the development and psychometric analysis of a measure of rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs called the Rape Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (RABS), intended for the use with college men. Items were developed from a literature review of "rape myths" that were correlated to some measure of sexual aggression. An exploratory…

The authors report the development and initial psychometric evaluation of gender-specific brief screening instruments to identify undetected psychiatric impairment on incarceration. Women and men completed the Correctional Mental Health Screen (CMHS), a 56-item screen derived from validated measures. Representative subsamples completed structured…