The proportion of agreement, G, and kappa indexes are shown to differ in how they correct for chance agreements between two observers. On the basis of the findings, it is suggested that no single agreement index is appropriate for all sets of data. (Author/BW)

The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency was evaluated to determine test-retest reliability and if there were presensitizing effects at retest for four- to five-year olds. Test reliability was significantly high. No significant test sensitization of the short form to retesting with the short form or subtests was found. (Author/RD)

This study, involving parents of 165 children under 6-years old, revealed internal consistency and test-retest reliability of 9 of the 11 dimensions constituting the Parent Interview for Autism. Six of the test dimensions differentiated young children with autism from a developmentally comparable group with mental retardation. (Author/JDD)

Rajaratnam, Cronbach and Gleser's generalizability formula for stratified-parallel tests and Raju's coefficient beta are generalized to estimate the reliability of a composite of criterion-referenced tests, where the parts have different cutting scores. (Author/GK)

Describes tailored testing (in which a computer selects appropriate items from an item bank while an examinee is taking a test) and shows it to be superior to paper-and-pencil tests in such areas as reliability, security, and appropriateness of items. (IRT)

Evidence regarding the factorial validity of the Educational Attitudes Inventory (EAI) is presented, as well as information concerning the intercorrelations of resulting factor scales and split-half reliability of each. Other statistical evidence for the construct validity of the EAI is included. (Author/GK)

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…

The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised is a semistructured interview for caregivers of children/adults for whom autism/pervasive developmental disorders is a possible diagnosis. The interview was reorganized, shortened, and modified for children with mental ages from 18 months into adulthood. Its psychometric properties are strong for preschool…

Research showing psychodynamic child therapy to be less effective than other forms of child treatment have used outcome measures focusing on symptomatic and behavioral change rather than on psychodynamic processes. A child therapy assessment procedure than measures the psychological functioning of the child in a psychodynamically meaningful way is…

The behavior of each of 120 students in grades 9-12 was rated by 2 of the student's teachers using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. Results indicated a generally low to moderate degree of relationship among teacher ratings. It is recommended that clinicians collect behavioral ratings from many raters before reaching diagnostic conclusions.…

This replication study found that only 16 of 55 raters agreed on the category of reinforcement maintaining a disabled individual's self-injurious behavior after using the Motivation Assessment Scale. Additionally, only 15 percent of the correlation coefficients obtained were above 80 percent, and none of the reliability scores was above 80…

Accurate, early screening is a prerequisite for indicated interventions intended to prevent development of externalizing disorders and delinquent behaviors. Using the Fast Track longitudinal sample of 396 children drawn from high-risk environments, the authors varied assumptions about base rates and examined effects of multiple-time-point and…

A model and method for developing a valid and reliable paper-and-pencil test for evaluating the technical knowledge of baseball coaches in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) in Canada are discussed. Development of a general theoretical and operational model for the evaluation of NCCP coaches in all sports are also studied. The…

Rasch calibration procedures were applied to item-response data for the 1,262 infants and toddlers comprising the standardization sample for the Mental Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Analyses tend to confirm the psychometric integrity of the instrument. (Author)

Parent and teacher ratings on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist with an outpatient sample of 110 children, adolescents, and young adults with mental retardation found that the 5-factor structure of both parent and teacher data corresponded very well with the 5 factors originally obtained from staff ratings of mentally retarded inpatients. (Author/DB)