The Maladaptive Behavior Record (MBR) analyzes and Predicts criminal behavior. Its 16 items yield a score indicating the degree of maladaptive behavior in the areas of occupation, interpersonal relationships, addiction, psychological adjustment, and legal and other behavioral problems. The MBR was used in two longitudinal followup studies to…

Results of a longitudinal study of the predictive validity of the School Behavior Profile (SBP) filled out by the classroom teachers of 721 first grade children indicated that: (1) First grade SBP scores are significantly related to fourth grade teacher judgments regarding the presence of behavior and attitude problems (r = -.40), (2) First grade…

Pretraining on test-taking strategies improved the reliability and predictive power of the Arithmetic Reasoning Test for seventh-grade Chicano students but not for non-Chicano students. Pretraining did not improve the reliability of the Missing Words Test for either group, but appears to have improved the predictive power of this test for both…

A school administrator in 1928 expressed a favorable opinion of standardized intelligence and achievement tests, based on research findings correlating test scores with student achievement. Quotations from his article reveal how little the controversy over tests has changed in the intervening years. (TE)

This paper examines the discriminative validity of the Learning Efficiency Test II (LET-II; Webster, 1998) in distinguishing among children diagnosed as having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) only, ADHD and an accompanying learning disability, ADHD-predominantly inactive type, and a control group. Children (N=132) between the ages…

Presents results of an investigation into the test-retest reliability of the short form of the Modern Language Aptitude Test, with Canadian samples. (AM)

The criterion validity of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) was investigated by pairing blind BDI-II administrations with the major depressive episode portion of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I; M. B. First, R. L. Spitzer, M. Gibbon, & J. B. W.…

This paper reports the results of using a three-layer backpropagation artificial neural network to predict item difficulty in a reading comprehension test. Two network structures were developed, one with and one without a sigmoid function in the output processing unit. The data set, which consisted of a table of coded test items and corresponding…

In 1970, the Illinois Legislature passed bills requiring that elementary school districts institute procedures to identify and treat preschool children who, without such intervention, would not progress satisfactorily in a normal school environment. Efforts in this regard resulted in the screening instrument called Developmental Indicators for the…

The purpose of this study was to construct and validate a self-rating scale which can be easily administered and quickly scored for discriminating between those high school students who will dropout and those who will not. A 34-item scale was constructed for subjects with a fifth grade reading level. This scale was administered to 113 high school…

An investigation was conducted to determine the effects of response-category weighting and item weighting on reliability and predictive validity. Response-category weighting refers to scoring in which, for each category (including omit and "not read"), a weight is assigned that is proportional to the mean criterion score of examinees selecting…

The reliability and validity of a tailored testing procedure based on the simple logistic model was determined for an achievement test in statistics and measurement. The test was administered on a CRT terminal to students from graduate and undergraduate measurement courses. Equivalent form reliability over a one-week interval was found to be 0.595…

The California State University and Colleges English Placement Test was designed to provide information about the reading and writing skills of newly admitted college students. The validity of this measure is examined. (Author/JKS)

The predictive validity of the Parent Guide to Quality Day Care Centers was studied in a second community by observing licensed day care centers prejudged as above- or below-average in services. Ninety-one of the items were reliably observed more frequently in above-average centers. (Author/CM)

Results of the Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics Concepts subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were analyzed for sex bias. On the whole, little evidence for sex bias was found for the four subtests and three grade levels examined. (Author)