This paper critiques current models for evaluation of mental health services provided to children and adolescents with emotional disturbances and offers an alternative model. The most popular model, Donabedian's tripartite model, is described. This model separately evaluates three domains: (1) structure (characteristics of the care providers,…

Since ethnicity is so often used in research on educational outcomes, this study examined the consistency with which students at Kapiolani Community College (Hawaii) reported their ethnic background. The study compared two different sources of ethnic data: the college application form and an interest inventory that all students fill out and submit…

The measurement of self concept and motivation of children ages 3 to 6 with an interview instrument is not an easy task. It has been accomplished with middle income, suburban children before. However, this same interview did not work well with low income, urban preschoolers. This study presents the preliminary psychometric work on a new interview…

This report summarizes current knowledge and research on the quality and reliability of death rates by race and Hispanic origin in official mortality statistics of the United States produced by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). It provides a quantitative assessment of bias in death rates by race and Hispanic origin and identifies…

This research, performed during 1998 and 1999, had as its purpose the development and validation of a course/instructor evaluation instrument specifically for use with graduate and undergraduate courses delivered online via the World Wide Web. The primary goal of the study was to develop an instrument that would collect valid perception data from…

The generalizability theory approach to the estimation of reliability is outlined, and a design is developed in which systematic variations in behavior over differing situations are separated from random fluctuation. Three coefficients of reliability are proposed. (CK)

Correlations among motor, visual, auditory, and language subscales of a primary device, Yellow Brick Road, with subsequent academic achievement on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills were moderate (.35 to .81). Comparisons of third-grade boys and girls on the screening device yielded little difference. Implications for educational screening…

Selected offender classification practices, past and present, are reviewed. Megargee's requirements for a "good" classification system are amplified, and a critique of several current approaches is provided. The role of classification deficiencies in prison conditions litigation is summarized. Guidelines from commissions, courts, scholars, and…

Describes research that led to the development of Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ), an instrument and program for collecting students' evaluations of college and university teaching. Indicates that SEEQ measures nine distinct components of teaching effectiveness identified in both student ratings and faculty self-evaluations.…

The reliability of grading by tutors at the Open University in Great Britain is examined. It is found that essays pose the greatest problem, which affects instruction in the arts, social sciences, and education most greatly. Less cause for alarm is found in other curricular areas. (MSE)

In three experiments, undergraduates evaluated student performance based on two sources of information differing in variability: test scores and grades. Differential weighting occurred only when instructions linked variability to reliability. It was concluded that evaluators will not ordinarily use relative variability of scores as an index of…

A performance measure analysis process developed by the Competency Based Education Committee of the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy to assess the status of the measurement of student performance is described. A taxonomy of levels of learning is appended. (Author/MLW)

This study of 29 elementary music teachers sought to determine if teaching competencies can reliably be measured through classroom observation; which selected competencies correlate to measures of pupil achievement and attitude; and how achievement and attitude related to attribute variables, such as socioeconomic status, grade level, and class…

Methodological techniques were employed to study the reliability, validity, and uniqueness of peer ratings that two sets of graduating students received during their final internal medicine rotation. Results indicate that peer ratings given as part of a promotion process were internally consistent, unbiased, and valid. (Author/MLW)

Deans' letters of recommendation can be regarded as measuring instruments that are used in the selection process to evaluate and predict the future performance of residents and interns. This study demonstrates that the dean's letter can be a reliable and valid measure of medical student performance that correlates with performance in residency…