Objective: To develop an instrument to assess client-centered counseling behaviors (skills) of student-counselors in a standardized patient (SP) exercise. Methods: Descriptive study of the accuracy and utility of a newly developed counseling evaluation instrument. Study participants included 11 female student-counselors at a Midwestern…

A family of coefficients of relational agreement for numerical scales is proposed, generalizing to multiple judges the theory of F. E. Zegers and J. M. F. ten Berge (1985) of association coefficients for two variables, using the premise that choice of coefficient depends on scale type of the variables. (SLD)

Multivariate methods are being used with increasing frequency in educational research because these methods control "experimentwise" error rate inflation, and because the methods best honor the nature of the reality to which the researcher wishes to generalize. This paper: explains the basic logic of canonical analysis; illustrates that…

Simulations demonstrate the effects of correlated errors on the person-by-occasion design in which the confounding effect of equal time intervals results in correlated error terms in the linear model. Two specific error correlation structures were examined. Conditions under which underestimation and overestimation occur are discussed. (SLD)

The present paper suggests that multivariate techniques are very important in social science research, and that canonical correlation analysis may be particularly useful. The logic of canonical analysis is explained and discussed. The necessity of using replicability/generalizability analyses is argued. It is suggested that cross-validation…

The implications of serially correlated effects on the results of generalizability analyses are discussed. Simulated data are provided that demonstrate the biases that serially correlated effects introduce into the results. Serial correlation in measurement effects can have a marked influence on the impression of the dependability of measurement…

The main purpose of this study is to examine the content structure of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) using the "table of specifications" model from the perspective of multivariate generalizability theory. Specifically, using MBE data collected over different years (six administrations: three from the February test and three from July test),…

Statistical invariance procedures provide a way of looking at the generalizability of research results from sample to sample when the research has not been validated by replication. This paper discusses the Procrustean Rotation invariance procedure following a canonical correlation analysis. The computer program RELATE is used to gauge the…

The need for using invariance procedures to establish the external validity or generalizability of statistical results has been well documented. Invariance analysis is a tool that can be used to establish confidence in the replicability of research findings. Several approaches to invariance analysis are available that are broadly applicable across…

As schools move toward performance assessment, there is increasing discussion of using these assessments for accountability purposes. When used for making decisions, performance assessments must meet high standards of validity and reliability. One major source of unreliability in performance assessments is interrater disagreement. In this paper,…

Value-added models in education research allow researchers to explore how a wide variety of policies and measured school inputs affect the academic performance of students. Researchers typically quantify the impacts of such interventions in terms of "effect sizes", i.e., the estimated effect of a one standard deviation change in the…

This study is an attempt at a cohesive characterization of the concept of essay reliability. As such, it takes as a basic premise that previous and current practices in reporting reliability estimates for essay tests have certain shortcomings. The study provides an analysis of these shortcomings--partly to encourage a fuller understanding of the…