The utility of the Test for Severe Impairment was studied with 60 older persons who had Down Syndrome. Construct validity, test-retest reliability, and interrater reliability were established for the full study group and for subgroups based on degree of mental retardation and dementia status. Some possible applications and limitations of the test…

Presents data from the development and testing of an instrument created to evaluate the oral health of nursing home residents by nursing personnel. Examination of 100 residents by dentists and 3 categories of trained nurses established statistically significant interrater reliability, suggesting that nursing staff can be taught to evaluate the…

A study tested the psychometric properties of the Stereotyped Behavior Scale, an empirically developed behavior rating scale for adolescents and adults with mental retardation. Forty-five adults with mental retardation and various rates of stereotypies participated. Results found the scale had high rates of reliability, validity, and interrater…

The NTID Writing Test was developed to assess the writing ability of postsecondary deaf students entering the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and to determine their appropriate placement into developmental writing courses. While previous research (Albertini et al., 1986; Albertini et al., 1996; Bochner, Albertini, Samar, & Metz, 1992)…

This study aims to advance our understanding of the assessment of numerous factors associated with recidivism among females and males involved in the juvenile justice system. In particular, this study examined the reliability (i.e., inter-rater) and validity (i.e., construct, criterion, and predictive) of the Santa Barbara Assets and Risks…

Coefficient Alpha can be used to estimate the reliability of a test when the test is split into several parts. It is known that alpha can severly underestimate test reliability when the parts have an unequal number of items. A generalization of alpha is proposed to correct this defect. (Author/JKS)

Two new reliability coefficients have been derived for situations in which a test must be divided into parts of unequal length. This report summarizes a study of the statistical bias and the standard errors of these coefficients and compares them to Guttman's lambda coefficients and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. (Author/JKS)

Reports the test-retest reliabilities for the Schedule of Recent Experiences (item counts) and the Recent Life Changes Questionnaire and compares the two scales. Subjects (N=109) were men and women enlisted in the US military reserves. Results indicated the two questionnaires demonstrate acceptable test-retest reliability. (BH)

The Autism Reinforcer Checklist was found to have adequate reliability when used with 29 autistic children (preschool-early adolescence). Results indicated highest and lowest ranked reinforcers of the edible, material, social, and activity type. (CL)

Several algorithms for computing the greatest lower bound to reliability or the constrained minimum-trace communality solution in factor analysis have been developed. The convergence properties of these methods are examined. A uniqueness proof for the desired solution is offered. (Author/JKS)

One argument against the G index is that, unlike phi, it is not a correlation coefficient; yet, G conforms to the Kendall and E-coefficient definitions. The G index is also equal to the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient obtained from double scoring. (Author/CP)

Examines psychometric reliability of Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI) utilizing adolescents with DSM-III-R diagnosis of Psychoactive Substance Use Disorder. Concludes that split-half, internal, and test-retest reliability is superior. Suggests that DUSI may be useful for identifying and quantifying substance use and related problems. Includes…

Over the last three decades, higher education institutions have found themselves using vernacular that was once chiefly found in business disciplines, such as value-added and competitive advantage. With the rising costs of tuition, newer-generation students are seeing themselves more and more as customers and universities are beginning to adopt…