The purposes of the present study were to develop and validate a mood scale measure for elementary grade school children. Graduate students generated a sampling of mood state items, 30 to use in a pilot study and 60 to use in a study to develop and validate this scale. Ratings were obtained on five point scale choices on each of the items from a…

The purpose of this study was to further develop and validate the Teaching Science as Inquiry (TSI) Instrument, an instrument designed to measure the self-efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers in regards to the teaching of science as inquiry. Based on the validation processes and the associated data analysis, the TSI demonstrates continued…

Early identification of social-emotional behavioral problems in infants and preschoolers is critical. Nine parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments measuring preschool social-emotional behavioral problems and strengths are reviewed. Advantages to the use of parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments are that they are easy…

This study presents the development and basic psychometric characteristics of the "School Safety and Security Questionnaire" (SSSQ). This new measure was constructed to assess middle grade students' perceptions of safety and security during the school year. The content validity of the theoretically-based instrument was assessed and the measure was…

Research Findings: We examined the reliability and validity of the language, literacy, and mathematics domains of "Work Sampling for Head Start" (WSHS), an observational assessment designed for 3- and 4-year-olds. Participants included 112 children who were enrolled over a two-year period in Head Start and a number of other programs…

Subjective well-being is an increasingly common indicator of adequacy of psychiatric services. An easy-to-administer assessment tool of subjective well-being that is conceptually sound, valid, and reliable is needed for use in persons with schizophrenia. The purpose of this paper was to validate the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale…

Authentic assessment is a growing alternative to conventional testing. This research-to-practice article describes a framework for implementing authentic assessment. The R-E-A-L framework shows how roles, equipment, assessment tools, and location can be incorporated into early childhood practices.

For people-helping professionals, the concept of burnout describes the physical and emotional exhaustion they feel on the job. A cognitive-behavioral model defines burnout as a state in which individuals expect few rewards and considerable punishment from work, due to lack of valued reinforcement, controllable outcomes, or personal competence.…

Classical test theory findings can be derived from the concepts of conditional expectation, conditional independence, and related notions. It is shown that these concepts provide precisely the formalism needed to obtain the classical results with minimal assumptions and with greatest economy in the methods of proof. (RC)

An alternative to the conventional right-wrong scoring method used on multiple-choice tests was presented. In the experiment, the examinee continued to respond to a multiple-choice item until feedback signified a correct answer. Findings showed that experimental scores were more reliable but less valid than inferred conventional scores.…

Results support the contention that a Guttman-weighted objective test can have psychometric properties that are superior to those of its unweighted counterpart, as long as omissions do not exist or are assigned a value equal to the mean of the k item alternative weights. (Author/BJG)

The consistency by which shared abilities are assessed on three intelligence tests was investigated. Instruments under consideration include: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition. A list of shared abilities and the subtests…

The paper reviews studies (1966-1985) of the intellectual abilities of culturally diverse 4-5 year olds in a discussion of the identification of giftedness in culturally diverse populations. Studies are cited which involved Mexican American, Black, Native American, French Canadian, and Belgian students. The following six topics are addressed: (1)…