As researchers in the social sciences, we are often interested in studying not directly observable constructs through assessments and questionnaires. But even in a well-designed and well-implemented study, rapid-guessing behavior may occur. Under rapid-guessing behavior, a task is skimmed shortly but not read and engaged with in-depth. Hence, a…

The psychometric properties of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School (LASSI-HS) was studied with 139 female high school students from Singapore. Results indicate that the LASSI-HS yields reliable measures of learning and study behaviors, but the underlying structure of the measure suggested in its manual was not supported. (SLD)

Nine indices of response pattern appropriateness were compared, based on item response theory, with respect to their relation to the total test score and their effectiveness in detecting unusual response patterns. The ability to differentiate between three groups was compared: cooperative examinees, uncooperative examinees, and randomly generated…

The utility of teacher ratings of student academic performance and psychosocial behaviors as technically sound indirect measures of student outcomes was demonstrated in a long-term study of the effects of background variables on a cohort of Danish children (n=350). The Baker-Mednick Teacher Rating Form was developed for this purpose. (SLD)