The purpose of this study was to compare the relative magnitude of the variance components and generalizability coefficients derived from the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments (TPAI) data using two different methods of data collection: (1) occasions when observers were in the classroom for simultaneous observation and (2) occasions when…

Six university English departments collaborated in this examination of the differences between multiple-choice and essay tests in evaluating writing skills. The study also investigated ways the two tools can complement one another, ways to improve cost effectiveness of essay testing, and ways to integrate assessment and the educational process.…

The purposes of this study were to establish the interrater reliability, dimensionality, and internal consistency of an instruction evaluation instrument used at The University of Michigan Medical School. Using the nine-item rating scale, 1,758 student ratings and 88 staff ratings were gathered on 61 faculty. Interrater agreement ranged from .28…

Longitudinal studies of test wiseness (TW) were conducted to determine: (1) the relationship between TW and grade level, (2) the relationship between TW and sex, and (3) the stability of TW. Aspects of TW observed included stem cue and specific determiner identification and usage and the elimination of similar and absurd options. Subjects were…

A latent trait method is presented to investigate the possibility that Angoff or Nedelsky judges specify inconsistent probabilities in standard setting techniques for objectives-based instructional programs. It is suggested that judges frequently specify a low probability of success for an easy item but a large probability for a hard item. The…

A discussion of selected applications of new tests developed within the context of a large-scale curriculum for educable mentally retarded (EMR) children, the Social Learning Curriculum (SLC), is presented in this paper which investigates three types of reliability that need to be demonstrated in order to provide a basis of these applications. The…

Investigated interrater reliability of the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale-Public School Version in a sample of 31 educable mentally handicapped children who were rated by their parents, special education teacher, classroom teacher, and an independent observer. Results showed ratings of the special education teacher were generally lower. (JAC)

A study reveals the need for extensive refinement of the Revised Perceived Environmental Control Measure purported in the past to be a reliable and valid instrument to measure the relationship between the psychological construct, "locus of control," and environmental action or environmentally responsible behavior. (MCO)

Two studies are reported that measure the long-term stability of performance assessments involving story-writing and poetry-writing (involving grade four and five students) and story-telling (involving grade two students). The long-term stability of these assessments compares favorably with stability figures for other creativity tests. (Author/JDD)

This study, involving 24 children or adolescents with pervasive developmental disorders, assessed 3 autism scales: Autism Behavior Checklist, Real Life Rating Scale, and Childhood Autism Rating Scale. The study analyzed interrater reliability, correlations between pairs of the three scales, diagnostic classification cutoff scores, and…

The Assessment of Preterm Infants' Behavior (APIB) is a newborn neurobehavioral assessment appropriate for preterm, at risk, and full-term newborns, from birth to 1 month after expected due date. The APIB is based in ethological--evolutionary thought and focuses on the assessment of mutually interacting behavioral subsystems in simultaneous…

A behavioral assessment system for scoring the behaviors of parents and coaches at youth sports games is described within this paper. The Youth Sports Behavior Assessment System (YSBAS) contains nine behavioral categories describing behaviors commonly seen during youth sports. The developmental process of YSBAS and the observer-training program…

In educational research, characteristics of the learning environment are generally assessed by asking students to evaluate features of their lessons. The student ratings produced by this simple and efficient research strategy can be analysed from two different perspectives. At the "individual level", they represent the individual student's…

Using a diverse sample of university students, this article describes outcomes of a confirmatory factor analysis and a group invariance analysis conducted to validate the factorial structure of the Sense of Belonging Scales. Accordingly, a modified factor structure departing significantly from that of the original authors is proposed. (Contains 5…

Quality measures were originally developed for research aimed at describing the settings that children spend time in and identifying the characteristics of these environments that contribute to children's development. They were also developed to guide improvements in practice. Increasingly, however, measures of quality are being used for further…