Providing fair assessment with timely feedback for students is a difficult task with science laboratory classes containing large numbers of students. Throughout our Faculty, such classes are assessed by short-answer questions (SAQs) centred on principles encountered in the laboratory. We have shown recently that computer-assisted assessment (CAA)…

Noting that the amount of reading students do is related to their reading achievement, this booklet presents an instrument designed to measure the amount and breadth of students' reading in and out of school. The first part of the booklet discusses the Reading Activity Inventory (RAI) and how it differs from other reading activity measures, uses…

This study determined internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients for the Willoughby Personality Schedule, currently used as an outcome measure in research and in clinical practice. The Hoyt analysis of variance yielded an internal consistency reliability coefficient of .90 on the first testing. The test-retest reliability…

The effect of different types of rating task instructions on rater behavior was examined using experts, as opposed to novices, as raters. The experts were instructed to (1) form a global categorical judgment (early hypothesis generation); (2) assess 19 detailed elements; or (3) both. Subjects were 8 dental faculty members who ranged in age from 28…

Concludes that the Estes Scale is an effective instrument for measuring levels of positive attitude toward books and reading. (RB)

A study investigating the degree of agreement between teacher evaluators using a standard set of evaluation criteria and evaluation methods examines the test reliability of the Classroom Procedures Assessment Instrument, the Interpersonal Skills Assessment Instrument, and the Teaching Plans and Materials Assessment Instrument. Two statistical…

Details the development and testing of the "News Direction Scale," which is designed to measure the negative-positive dimension of news. Reports the scale to be highly reliable. (FL)

Special education tests evaluated by M. Thurlow and J. Ysseldyke with regard to technical adequacy were reevaluated using the same criteria. There was disagreement of 11 of the 30 tests used in both evaluations, demonstrating that current test standards are vague enough that experts disagree. (Author/CL)

The At Risk for Violence Test (ARFV) is a test used to identify violence prone teens and adults. The ARFV, teen version, is designed for use in public and private schools, grades 6 through 12, as an annual screening early in the school year. Norms for girls and boys are used for scoring reports. The adult version may be used to screen job…

Discusses a new procedure developed by the Center for the Study of Evaluation for evaluating standardized elementary school tests. (JF)

Development of a student evaluation system for two preclinical dental laboratory courses is described. The system uses an analytic technique for identifying components of the evaluation system that contribute to and detract from the evaluation's reliability. Further refinements based on this technique are discussed. (Author/MSE)

This study demonstrates that multiple matrix sampling procedures can be used to collect assessment data efficiently, unabstrusively, and reliably. (MB)

This study examined the psychometrics of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders Personality Questionnaire (SCID-IIP) self-report personality questionnaire. The responses to the instrument were found reliable and evidenced good self-other convergence. Correlations with external criteria showed the SCID-IIP to contain…

The underlying structure of the Postconcussion Syndrome Questionnaire (PCS) was evaluated in a large sample of 1,116 medical and psychiatric patients. Balancing internal consistency, confirmatory factor analysis, and parsimony results in endorsement of the four-factor solution for the PCS for this sample. (SLD)