Oral language skills are important to consider in school psychology practice, as they are directly tied to many areas of academic functioning. For example, research has demonstrated that oral language skills in early elementary school predict reading comprehension in later grades (Kendeou, van den Broek, White, & Lynch, 2009). With a…

In 1979, humanities faculty at Reading Area Community College introduced the writing sample as the means of placing entering freshmen into appropriate writing classes. In response to expressed concern about the objectivity and validity of the writing sample approach, the humanities faculty engaged in a 6-year effort to adjust the writing sample…

Developmental Record protocols were obtained from archival files for 1,069 institutionalized mentally retarded adults and children. Analyses revealed high internal reliabilities, but questionable validity. The Developmental Record did not adequately discriminate the five areas of functioning it purportedly assesses (self-care, perceptual-motor,…

The Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) and the Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition (SBIV) were administered to 95 elementary students referred because of either learning problems or potential giftedness. SIT scores predicted SBIV verbal scores more accurately than composite scores. Overall the SIT predicted SBIV scores better for students with learning…

Use of acoustic reflectometry was compared with tympanometry in middle ear screenings for 357 children, aged 5 months to 19 years. Results were analyzed according to sex, age, and sensorineural hearing status. Intratest reliability was highly significant and positive predictive accuracy and specificity rates were excellent, but sensitivity rates…

A study analyzed scores on placement tests and academic performance of over 1,800 first-year students at an urban public university. Results indicate that basic skills placement tests measured academic preparation more accurately than the American College Testing program and that standardized and local tests showed only moderate reliability,…

Addresses the validity of the Cognitive-Affective Response Test-Music by clarifying the theoretical assertions on which the construct validity of the instrument rests. Presents nine specific assertions and data from two studies. Concludes that the test is valid for college-bound high school students. (CFR)

In fall 1986, a study was conducted at Florence-Darlington Technical College (South Carolina) to measure the reliability and validity of the TEC-MAT, a newly developed entrance test. The TEC-MAT instrument, a criterion-referenced test consisting of 100 items assessing numerical skills, was field tested among a group of entry-level freshmen already…