A "modified essay examination" was used to help teach and to assess clinical problem-solving skills with 11 first trimester doctoral students. This examination provided a paper-and-pencil simulation of problems encountered in case management. Students were required to generate hypotheses, formulate questions, discuss issues, and make…

This paper is limited in scope to the preliminary questions that must be asked about a single instrument before one can use students' impressions of their teachers as part of any diagnostic or evaluation process. The described analysis is intended as illustrative of the kinds of questions that should be obtained to demonstrate the reliability and…

Noting that instructor and course evaluations represent important, ongoing concerns to students, faculty, and administrators in speech communication, this paper uses the experimental approach to consider the purposes of evaluations, explores major evaluation issues, reviews the literature concerning specific variables possibly related to these…

Extended caution indices (ECI) specify the degree of confidence that can be placed in an individual's test score by analyzing patterns of item response. Among the most promising of such indices are the standardized ECIs. Contrary to the literature, several instances were found, in a previous study, of nonnormal distributions of ECIs with samples…

The development of a Spanish computerized adaptive placement test at Brigham Young University (Utah) is described. The test is based on an approach that locates an examinee's ability along a continuum of latent ability rather than determining the degree to which an individual's ability differs from the abilities of others taking the test, as in…

A study evaluated a composition grading scale used in the University of California at Los Angeles' program of English as a second language (ESL). It looked at (1) the comparative difficulty of the subscale categories; (2) the interrelationships of the subscale categories; (3) the incremental arrangement of the subscale categories and performance…

This study examined the objectivity, trainability, and reliability of the SRI observational system (developed at the Stanford Research Institute) as it was modified for use in the "A Study of Schooling" research project. Four instruments in the observation system were tested. The physical environment inventory recorded the architectural…

These studies in test adequacy focus on two problems: procedures for estimating reliability, and techniques for identifying ineffective distractors. Fourteen papers are presented on recent advances in measuring achievement (a response to Molenaar); "an extension of the Dirichlet-multinomial model that allows true score and guessing to be…

A study measured student awareness of a variety of reading and study skill elements: author attitude and bias, signal words, vocabulary, organizing to read, notetaking, mental imagery, and reading flexibility. It also established a reliability coefficient for the Survey of Study-Reading Habits instrument, a 15-item, 4-point Likert type scale…

The Methodology Inventory is a 76-item 4-point measure divided into eight scales designed to determine what behaviors a teacher engages in while teaching. The eight scales are stimuli for writing, prewriting, writing, revising/editing, evaluation, language development, varieties of discourse, and publication of written work. The instrument was…

This manuscript is a report of the third revision of the Maryland Preschool Self-Concept of Scale originally developed by Smith (1977). Two samples of 4-, 5-, and 6-year old children (N = 54 and N = 78) were administered the Maryland Preschool Self-Concept Scale - Revised (MPSS-R). In the first study, the measure was given twice, 3 to 5 weeks…

The research literature on oral achievement testing is reviewed, and advantages and disadvantages of oral tests are described. A number of suggestions are made for improving the objectivity, reliability, and validity of oral tests. The results of a survey of the attitudes and experiences of a selected sample of college students with regard to…

This study was designed to increase knowledge of the functioning of item bias techniques in detecting biased items. Previous studies have used computer-generated data or real data with unknown amounts of bias. The present project extends previous studies by using items that are logically generated and subjectively evaluated a priori to be biased…

An attempt to measure responsibility for the effects of careful or careless driving involved the development of a scale for driving locus of control (DLOC). An early version of the DLOC was given to 43 college students. Preliminary results indicated that test-retest reliability and internal consistency were high enough to warrant further…

The stability of annual normal curve equivalent (NCE) on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills over a period of six years was established in a previous study of status (position within a reference group). This study investigated the relationship between status stability and student achievement level. Third grade students in a suburban school district who…