Drawing on the experience of Oregon's new-teacher evaluation system, describes teacher work-sample methodology and evidence for its reliability and validity in evaluating the performance of prospective teachers. This is a methodology that responds to the challenge issued by the National Commission on Teaching and the America's Future challenge.…

Describes the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales, a standardized assessment for infants, toddlers and preschool children. It is designed to identify children at risk of developing a communication impairment and to establish a profile of functioning in the areas of communicative, social-affective, and symbolic abilities. (CR)

Presents three studies examining the psychometric properties of the Community Service Self-Efficacy Scale developed for program evaluation of service learning in college. The scale was constructed to assess an individual's confidence in his or her ability to make clinically significant contributions to the community through service. Reliability,…

Investigated the reliability and construct validity of scores on a Spanish version of an academic self-concept measure for economically disadvantaged Hispanic middle school, English as a Second Language students. Results did not completely support five hypothesized constructs corresponding to five factor subscales on the English version. Students…

A study examined the reliability and validity of two curriculum-based measures (CBMs) as indicators of the performance of 58 7th-graders in a content-area classroom. CBM measures were student- and administrator-read vocabulary-matching probes. Results revealed moderate alternate-form reliability for both vocabulary-matching measures. Scores for…

The construct of interpersonal forgiveness is operationalized and tested with 197 college students and 197 of their same-gender parents. The Enright Forgiveness Inventory correlates significantly and negatively with anxiety, particularly in relation to deep hurt in a developmentally relevant area. (JPS)

Interset and set-to-total correlations for the California Card Sorting Test were studied for 135 college students and 63 elementary school students. Although subsets were not equivalent, the generally good correlations between subset and total test scores indicated that use of the individual subsets as short forms is justified. (SLD)

Original data and other studies using the Positive Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATP-Q) show that the reliability and norms of the instrument appear stable and that the ATP-Q is inversely associated with negative affective states but unrelated to conditions such as medical condition not accompanied by psychological distress. (SLD)

Describes the theoretical framework and practical application of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Concludes that the survey is based on an empirically-proven statistical construct that has been executed accurately with results that shed light on the relationship between functional literacy and national and individual well being.…

Familiarizes test users with issues to consider when employing assessments for screening and admission purposes. Examines the purpose, content, and scoring methods of three English-as-a-Second-Language admissions tests--the Cambridge certificate exams, International English Language Teaching System, and Test of English as a Foreign…

This article describes two developmental assessment instruments used by teachers working with students with autism: the Psychoeducational Profile-Revised (PEP-R) and the Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile. Information is provided on administrator qualifications, item administration, scoring, reliability, and validity. One teacher's use…

Examined psychometric properties of Adolescent Risk-Taking Questionnaire, using 11- to 18-year-olds. Found that the four-factor risk structure was substantiated via confirmatory factor analysis. One week test-retest and internal consistency indices were sound. Older adolescents and boys perceived less risk and reported more risky behaviors than…

Investigates the reliability and validity of the Bentley Measures of Musical Abilities (BMMA) for predicting musical achievement of students entering the Conservatory Alberto Ginastera (Argentina) by measuring the students improvement over the first four-month term. Encourages the use of the BMMA as a means to evaluating the entering students…

This article describes standardized instruments designed to measure physical and emotional health outcomes among children for a statewide implementation of community- and school-based family resource centers. It includes descriptive and psychometric information, strengths and weaknesses of two measures of physical well-being, and four measures of…

Background: To the person who stutters, there are other experiences than the somatic ones of stuttered speech. These are experiences of cognition and affect: in other words, experiences of thought and emotion. For several reasons, it is quite difficult to determine and recommend core measures of cognition and affect for clinicians to consider…