Under given conditions, conventional testing and computer-generated repeatable testing (CGRT) are equally effective for estimating examinee ability; CGRT is more effective for estimating the mean ability level of a group and less effective for estimating ability differences among individuals. These conclusion are drawn from domain-referenced test…

Consistent with the distinction between student ratings (ratings assigned) and class ratals (ratings received), various properties of the FACE Instrument scales were investigated. (RC)

Presents guidelines for constructing tests which accurately measure a student's cognitive skills and performance in a particular course. The advantages and disadvantages of two types of test items are listed (selected response and constructed response items). Both poor and good examples are given and general rules for test item writing are…

This study analyzed user manuals and technical supplements of 27 aptitude and achievement tests to determine whether disabled children were included in development of the tests' norms, items, reliability indices, and validity indices. Most test developers provided scant evidence that their tests were valid for use with disabled students. (JDD)

Analysis of the free speech of one- to three-year-olds (N=21) found that measures of mean length of utterance (MLU) are positively related to age, are reliable, and can predict grammatical development, although there are identifiable points in the developmental evolution of MLU and MLU-like indices beyond which their reliability and validity have…

A 21-item Likert scale to measure teachers' burnout was developed. Factor analysis supported its validity and determined its four subscales: (1) Career Satisfaction; (2) Perceived Administrative Support; (3) Coping with Job-Related Stress; and (4) Attitudes towards Students. Additional analyses indicated good reliability and validity. (Items are…

Differences in procedures used by academic institutions and government agencies in administering the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Oral Proficiency Interview test are examined, and results and implications of two studies of interrater reliability are discussed. (MSE)

Evaluation of the cumulative files of 143 severely disabled students (ages 6 to 20 years) in five school districts indicated: (1) a lack of appropriate technically adequate norm-referenced tests, (2) technical adequacy not a major determinant in test selection, and (3) less frequent use (than expected) of criterion-referenced and adaptive behavior…

This study describes the development and application of a needs assessment measure used to evaluate two inservice courses for Israeli mathematics teachers. Reliability and validity checks are presented through factor analysis, Cronbach alpha coefficents, and comparing instrument results with teachers' written comments. (BS)

The issue addressed by this study was whether the Jesness Inventory Classification System as revised for hand-scoring can provide useful information about the personality and behavior of nonoffenders. Data on the System's construct validity showed that youths of the nine subtypes differed on many background, personality, attitude, and behavioral…

Suggests that Likert ratings and semantic differentials differ in sensitivity to personal experience with the aged, that therapists had more positive beliefs about the elderly than did college students, and that therapist attitudes were not correlated with either proportion of elderly clients seen or desire to work with elderly. (Author/ABB)

The performance of disabled and non-disabled students on college admissions test were compared. Performance of learning disabled and hearing impaired students appears most discrepant from the norm. Evidence relating to validity and reliability of admissions tests for handicapped and nondisabled examinees suggests no dependable differences in…

Describes the development of the Perceived Well-Being Scale (PWB), which allows for separate assessment of psychological and physical well-being. Several studies bearing on the psychometric properties and usefulness of the PWB are presented and the implications of the findings are discussed. (Author/CT)

Reviews bases for contemporary discontinuity theories of mental development, presents findings that support alternative proposition of continuity and scrutinizes assessment methods from which these continuity results derive. Also offers several models that help explain the continuity findings, and argues that individual differences in mental…

This paper presents 11 statistical procedures which test the equality of m coefficient alphas when the sample alpha coefficients are dependent. Several of the procedures are derived in detail, and numerical examples are given for two. (Author/LMO)