This sequential-explanatory mixed-methods study assessed the construct validity of the educative Teaching Performance Assessment's (edTPA) Elementary Education Literacy, Elementary Education Math, and Early Childhood assessment areas. The edTPA is a portfolio-based subject-specific teaching performance assessment developed by Stanford's Center for…

Self-efficacy is frequently explored as a construct within assessments in counselor education (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997; Cashwell & Dooley, 2001; Kozina et al., 2010). However, despite the importance of advocacy in our field, there is a lack of research that measures self-efficacy in relation to advocacy attitudes and behaviors (Smith…

Validity of a measurement refers to appropriate test score meanings, uses, and interpretations (Messick, 1989; Kane, 1992). There are different approaches to validity: an evidentiary aspect of validity is one requiring gathering statistical evidence to evaluate test score meaning. A common approach to validation is comparisons of test score equity…

Given recent calls for advancing valid instrumentation in the field of cyberaggression, the present study evaluated construct validity and measurement invariance for the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey (CES) in a high school and college student sample. A series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), reliability analyses, and a nomological net…

This dissertation consists of three studies which examined multidimensional balance in youth (= 21 years; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004) with visual impairments (VIs) using the Brief-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Brief-BESTest). These studies have the potential to inform (adapted) physical education curricula and…

Under the framework of item response theory (IRT) and generalizability (G-) theory, this study examined the effects of item difficulty on rating reliability and construct validity on both the constructed-response (CR) items and essay items on English examinations. The data collected for this study were students' scores and responses on the two…

There is limited recognition of self-determination concept in the Middle Eastern culture. Subsequently, there are no adapted measures of self-determination for Arabic adolescents with intellectual disability, learning disability, and multiple disabilities (intellectual disability and physical impairment). The purpose of this study was to examine…

The goal of this study was to develop a survey instrument to measure transactional distance in secondary blended learning environments. This study resulted in a 35-item survey instrument, the Blended Learning Assessment Scale of Transactional Distance (BLASTD), which was tested using a convenience sample of secondary students (n = 222) at a…

The concept "academic culture" has been used as a framework to understand faculty work in higher education. Academic culture research builds on organizational psychology concepts of culture and climate to better understand employee practices and work phenomenon. Ample research has investigated faculty teaching at the disciplinary and…

The purpose of this study was the creation of an instrument to assess perceptions of job satisfaction for professional staff fulfilling the role of residence directors. With many costs associated with the exit of an employee (Cascio, 1987), it is hoped that the instrument may be used by the senior housing administrators to limit lateral turnover,…

Two overlapping issues have given rise to this study: the need for assessment instruments to use with Spanish-speaking Latinos and the need for normative data on current and future Spanish-language instruments. Numerous career assessment instruments exist for the English-speaking population. These instruments may be administered on computer-based…

Research indicates that many elementary students do not comprehend that the equal sign is an indication that an equality relation exists between two structures. Instead, they perceive the equal sign as an indication that a particular procedure is to be performed. As students mature, and as their exposure to the equal sign and equality relations in…

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Cultural Awareness and Beliefs Inventory for Higher Education (CABIHE). The CABIHE consists of thirty-nine items, with thirty that measure professors' cultural awareness and beliefs on a Likert-type four-point scale. In addition, this study examined the extent to which…

The purpose of this study was to determine which of three competing models will provide, reliable, interpretable, and responsive measures of elementary students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The Nature of Science Instrument-Elementary (NOSI-E), a 28-item Rasch-based instrument, was used to assess students' NOS…

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the School-Based Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale (SB-SES). Two hundred sixty-five (N = 265) licensed mental health professionals participated in this study. Fifty-eight percent of the participants reported experience working as a school-based counselor with the remaining 42% reporting no…