Changepoints are abrupt variations in a sequence of data in statistical inference. In educational and psychological assessments, it is pivotal to properly differentiate examinees' aberrant behaviors from solution behavior to ensure test reliability and validity. In this paper, we propose a sequential Bayesian changepoint detection algorithm to…

Introduction: autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) seem to influence the risk of and vulnerability to exposure to trauma and adverse events. While assessment of a psychiatric disorder in ASD and ID generally is challenging, identification of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seems particularly so, and knowledge does…

Kappa (Cohen, 1960) is a popular agreement statistic used to estimate the accuracy of observers. The response of kappa to differing baserates was examined and methods for estimating the accuracy of observers presented. Results suggest that setting a single value of kappa as "minimally acceptable" (i.e., a criterion value) is not useful in ensuring…

Discusses ethical principles necessary when evaluating students' communication skills. Stresses the importance of examining the ethics of this process because the evaluation of communication behavior is performed by individuals who are prone to subjectivity. (PD)

The development of some psychometric indices of performance rating quality based in judgement is traced. The conceptual and analytical confusion that characterizes contemporary research in this area is described. The operational definitions of several criteria of rating quality, including leniency and severity of the rating effect, halo effect,…

A look at one method of analyzing the percentage of time spent in various activities and functions as one example of how teachers and other educational personnel might examine the processes and experiences of the classroom to get some indication of what learning outcomes are being fostered. (Author)

This document presents a model for a program to guide teachers in effective self-evaluation. In this structured program, the teacher is expected to write course, unit, and daily lesson plans incorporating behaviorally stated objectives, which communicate his or her instructional intent. With the help of a trained observer-evaluator, the teacher is…

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of commonly used measures of job effectiveness, concentrating on a recent development in the field, the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS); and proposes a new approach, the Behavior Description Index (BDI), which the author contends reduces or avoids most of the shortcomings of other…

In order to develop a scientific theory of curriculum, a method for measuring the curriculum-related planning activity of teachers is proposed. This choice of focus is based on the assumption that a logical connection can be made between the level of teacher planning, the quality of the resulting actions, and the corresponding goal attainment by…

A comparative method for analyzing efforts of induced change in cross-cultural situations is described. Case histories of efforts to introduce innovations to local communities of the developing nations were separated into 'success' and 'failure' groups. The behavioral components that influenced such outcomes were categorized according to whether…