Compares several instruments of potential usefulness in assessment of anxiety and depression among pain patients (N=34). Results showed that the SCL-90-R appeared to offer the best combination of relevant data and efficient assessment. However, significant intercorrelations among SCL-90-R subscales suggest a unitary factor structure. (NRB)

Addresses issues important to developmental psychologists in selecting an SES index, specifically discussing (1) the use of Hollingshead's SES indexes; (2) the interrelationships among contemporary SES indexes; and (3) the relationships among these SES indexes and young children's development. (Author/KS)

Twenty-one language tests that included norms for children ages 4 and 5 were reviewed for information on 10 psychometric criteria. Administration of the 4 tests meeting the most criteria to 20 preschool children with specific language impairments and 20 controls found that only 1 (the Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test) provided…

The relevance of testing to curriculum is measured by the closeness of fit between test items and major program objectives. In this paper two procedures for analyzing the curriculum/test overlap are compared. The first method obtains a detailed analysis of a priority area of the curriculum. The process brings the curriculum into alignment with the…

Providers of psychoeducational assessment services for hearing-impaired children, from infants to adolescents, were surveyed concerning their educational and experiential background, communication modes used, problems encountered, and educational placements of assessed children. Frequency of use scores and rankings are reported for psychological…

This paper reviews basic social validity assessment techniques, discusses the constructs underlying direct magnitude estimation (DME), illustrates the use of DME for performing social validity evaluations of spontaneous language samples (with 3 brain-injured children, ages 10-15, and 3 controls), and discusses the relationship between subjective…

This study is based on three sources: (1) an experimental try-out of four oral proficiency testing methods (oral interview, role play, reporting test, and group discussion); (2) an evaluation of the testing methods by a panel of experts; and (3) an analysis of the same testing methods by policy makers. The findings are reported in terms of the…

As part of an effort to develop strategies for measuring institutional effectiveness, a study was conducted at West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVU-P), a two-year institution with an enrollment of nearly 4,000 students, to determine the most appropriate instrument for measuring gains in general education between incoming freshman (i.e.,…

This paper presents findings from a study of teachers' and principals' testing practices. The research included a nation-wide survey, exploratory fieldwork in preparation for the survey, and a case study inquiry on testing costs. Teachers and principals share misgivings with some of the research community about the appropriateness of required…

This survey investigated: (1) the extent that psychometric criteria are used in test selection; (2) the weight given to different types of psychometric information relative to other qualities of the test; and (3) possible reasons for differences among districts. Directors of testing offices, including members of the National Association of Test…

The Language Assessment Battery was administered to third to fifth grade limited English speaking students in New York City. Special techniques addressed two common problems in testing these populations: (1) language tests suitable for limited English speakers change their psychometric characteristics over time as the students' language ability…