The School Survey provides a needs assessment technique for county alcohol and drug abuse agencies. The survey was designed for students in grades seven through twelve. Recommendations were made to survey only seventh, tenth, and twelfth graders. These proved to be representative of the secondary school population. Localized surveys of South…

The paper describes development of the Minneapolis Preschool Screening Instrument (MPSI), a measure for identifying children needing preschool intervention. The measure was designed to be brief to administer, inexpensive and simple enough so that both professionals and nonprofessionals could quickly learn administration and scoring. A…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a Mexican version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test could be improved by directly translating both forms of the American test, then using decision procedures to select the better item of each pair. The reliability of the simple translations suffered. (Author/BW)

Describes the development of the Psicologico Texto (PT), a personality survey specifically designed for the Spanish-literate offender. Describes problems in accurate, relevant assessment of those individuals who generally have poor literary skills. Tested PT with offenders (n=130) of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Cuban heritages. (Author/ABL)

The Test Battery for Mentally Handicapped Children (TBGB) was developed for the psychological diagnosis of mentally handicapped children in West Germany to provide diagnostic information relevant to educational programing. Reliablity coefficients were completed, tests of validity were undertaken, and the utility of the TBGB for differential…

Explores the problems and procedures of producing test norms for bilingual populations. The difficulty encountered in defining subpopulations for separate test norm production and empirical classification is considered, and four practical solutions are detailed: school classification, person classification, test score classification, and language…

Development of the mathematics functional literacy test (MFLT) is described, issues of predictive and content validity are discussed, and implications for educational policy are presented. Ten basic skill areas identified by the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics were used as the basis for the development of the MFLT. (RL)

A scale developed to assess the burdens of families with a seriously mentally ill member, the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS), is described. Use of the scale in two studies involving 188 family members demonstrates its stable factor structure and practicality for program evaluation. (SLD)

Describes the development and validation of the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Sexist/Nonsexist Language (IASNL), which was based on a conceptual framework related to beliefs about language, recognition of sexist language, and willingness to use inclusive language. Results from four studies indicated that the IASNL was valid and reliable. Two short…

One of 10 reports commissioned by the National Academy of Education, this report investigates topics related to an assessment program piloted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) designed to support state-by-state and state-to-nation comparisons of student performance in reading. The report focuses on three issues: (1) the…

The development of a new instrument, the Statements About Schools Inventory (SAS) is described. The SAS measures the extent to which high schools meet the needs of their students for a safe, stable environment (security scale), for interpersonal relationships (social scale), for success and achievement (esteem scale), and for personal growth (self…

A new creativity test is described that is based on the percept-genetic theory, which presumes that percepts are built by ultra-short, mostly preconscious processes. The test uses a still-life with two main structures, which is shown in two series of presentations differing in length. Results of experiments using the test are described. (Author/KM)

A Specific Aptitude Test Battery (SATB) for Respiratory Therapist was developed by the U.S. Employment Service (USES). The technical adequacy of research, fairness to minorities, and usefulness of the battery to Employment Service staff and employers in selecting individuals for training in respiratory therapist positions were examined. Research…

This article describes the development and validation of an instrument to assess adults' orientations toward control versus autonomy in their interactions with children. The responses from 68 teachers had a good range and were internally consistent and temporally stable. Further, the measure was shown to be externally valid. (Author/BW)

Describes the development and validation of the Portuguese Speaking Test, a simulated oral proficiency interview that uses a semidirect approach to examine proficiency in personal conversation, direction-giving, description, narration, topical discourse, and real-life situations. (CB)