The 63 items on skills in acquiring and using information from written documents contained in the Survey of Young Adult Literacy in the 1985 National Assessment of Educational Progress are analyzed. The analyses are based on a qualitative cognitive model and an item-response theory model. (TJH)

This research assessed the psychometric properties of the Multifaceted Lifestyle Satisfaction Scale, an interview examining satisfaction of individuals with mental retardation with their living arrangements and communities, personal relationships, recreation and leisure, employment, and degree of self-direction. Based on analysis of 149 subjects,…

Addresses the central issue of test biases in college entrance examinations. Utilizes differential item functioning analysis (DIF) to compare types of questions, fields of knowledge, and male and female responses in Turkish entrance examinations. Reveals intermittent biases and suggests the tests be used more for assessment than selection. (MJP)

No generally accepted theory of sex offender behavior exists at this point. As clinical experience and research findings interact within an evolving theoretical framework, the picture of what is important, as well as what is possible to know about a sex offender, is rapidly changing. It is vital that mental health professionals, the legal system,…

Objective: This article reports findings of three studies addressing convergent validity and test-retest reliability of the Youth Rating Scale of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-Second Edition (BERS-2). Method: Pearson product-moment correlations were used in all three studies, the first two addressing convergent validity and the third…

Classical measurement theory was used to investigate measurement characteristics of both parts of the Finding Embedded Figures Test (FEFT) when the test was: administered in either a "no guessing" supply format or a multiple-choice selection format; administered to either undergraduate college students or middle school students; and…

The latent structure, reliability, and item discrimination of 33 items on a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) instrument representing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were assessed. The study sample included 311 adolescents ranging from ages 12 to 19 years. Demographic characteristics of the…

Measures used at the Division of Developmental Studies at the University of Georgia in constructing a student profile (specifically, of high-risk college freshmen) are discussed. The areas measured concern: goals; learning styles; career exploration; stress and academic anxiety; developmental tasks; and locus of control. The goals checklist…

The controversial and complex issues regarding the effects of educational and psychological testing on the education of minority group children in America are discussed. Although the focus is primarily on black students, the issues discussed are equally valid for all minority populations in the American public schools. The articles in the book…

The document is comprised of the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Toolkit, a field-tested observation packet to examine literacy and language practices and materials in prekindergarten through third grade classrooms, and a user's guide providing technical information and instructions for administration and scoring the…

Describes a study of medical students that was conducted to evaluate measures of performance on factual searches of INQUIRER, a full-text database in microbiology. Measures relating to recall, precision, search term overlap, and efficiency are discussed; reliability and construct validity are considered; and implications for future research are…

The aim of the present study was to address how to effectively predict mathematics learning disability (MLD). Specifically, we addressed whether cognitive data obtained during kindergarten can effectively predict which children will have MLD in third grade, whether an abbreviated test battery could be as effective as a standard psychoeducational…

Responses to Life Satisfaction Scale for Problem Youth (LSSPY) items were examined in a sample of 193 substance abusing and conduct disordered adolescents. In responding to the LSSPY, youth endorse their percentage of happiness (0 to 100%) in twelve domains (i.e., friendships, family, school, employment/work, fun activities, appearance, sex…

The Elementary School Success Profile (ESSP) is a multidimensional instrument for school-based practitioners that assesses the social environmental domains of neighborhood, school, friends, and family, as well as the well-being, behavior, and school performance of students in the third, fourth, and fifth grade. This article presents the…

Issues in the testing of bilinguals are examined, particularly in the context of poor results attained on standardized tests by bilingual children. Discussion begins with an examination of definitions and classification of bilingualism, citing some evidence of confusion in use of terminology. Causes for this confusion are seen in popular…