The severity of bias in respondents' self-reports due to acquiescence response style (ARS) and extreme response style (ERS) depends strongly on how consistent these response styles are over the course of a questionnaire. In the literature, different alternative hypotheses on response style (in)consistency circulate. Therefore, nine alternative…

The majority of large-scale assessments develop various score scales that are either linear or nonlinear transformations of raw scores for better interpretations and uses of assessment results. The current formula for coefficient alpha (a; the commonly used reliability coefficient) only provides internal consistency reliability estimates of raw…

For a test that consists of dichotomously scored items, several approaches have been reported in the literature for estimating classification consistency and accuracy indices based on a single administration of a test. Classification consistency and accuracy have not been studied much, however, for "complex" assessments--for example,…

An approximate statistical test of the equality of two intraclass reliability coefficients based on the same sample of people is derived. Such a test is needed when a researcher wishes to compare the reliability of two measurement procedures, and both procedures can be applied to results from the same group. (SLD)

This article studies the ordinal reliability of (total) test scores. This study is based on a classical-type linear model of observed score (X), true score (T), and random error (E). Based on the idea of Kendall's tau-a coefficient, a measure of ordinal reliability for small-examinee populations is developed. This measure is extended to large…

The clarification provided by Williams and Zimmerman on the reliability of gain scores is translated into recognizable patterns of change that tend to produce reliable or unreliable gain scores. The relevance of the traditional idea of reliability to the measurement of change is also discussed. (SLD)

Staff members of the Psychology department at the University of Oregon rated each other's height on five rating scales representative of those found in social psychology. Average ratings proved to be very good estimates of height. (Author/JKS)

An approximate statistical test is derived for the hypothesis that the intraclass reliability coefficients associated with two measurement procedures are equal. Control of Type 1 error is investigated by comparing empirical sampling distributions of the test statistic with its derived theoretical distribution. A numerical illustration is…

The reliability of a gain is determined by the reliabilities of the components, the correlation between them, and their standard deviations. Reliability is not inherently low, but the components of gains in many investigations make low reliability likely and require caution in the use of gain scores. (SLD)

The critiques by L. Collins and L. Humphreys in this issue illustrate problems with the use of gain scores. Collins' examples show that familiar formulas for the reliability of differences do not reflect the precision of measures of change. Additional examples demonstrate flaws in the conventional approach to reliability. (SLD)

A technique to measure maternal teaching strategies was developed for possible use in research and evaluation studies. Scores derived from the technique describe quality and quanitity of behaviors used by mothers to teach cognitive-perceptual tasks to their own young children. Reliability and validity data are presented. (Author/JKS)

This special issue covers recent technical developments in the field of criterion-referenced testing. An introduction, six papers, and two commentaries dealing with test development, test score uses, and evaluation of scores review relevant literature, offer new models and/or results, and suggest directions for additional research. (SLD)