Reviews medical and psychoeducational assessment models, illustrating need to expand assessment procedure database resulting from the measurement errors in traditional assessment practices. Introduces assessment model emphasizing collection of classroom-based information over time and evaluating data more critically. Suggests model facilitates…

Describes study that compared the administration of the Microtest computer version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) with administration procedures for the traditional paper and pencil version. Highlights include an anxiety inventory; attitude scales; rank order and reliability; correlation analyses; power analyses; and…

This article discusses issues relevant to the clinical assessment of parent-child interaction in the context of early intervention and clinical infant services. Issues discussed include factors contributing to the call for parent-child assessments, reliability and validity of parent-child assessment instruments, and interpretability of data…

A study analyzed scores on placement tests and academic performance of over 1,800 first-year students at an urban public university. Results indicate that basic skills placement tests measured academic preparation more accurately than the American College Testing program and that standardized and local tests showed only moderate reliability,…

This study reports on the development and initial testing of the Preschool Speech Intelligibility Measure (PSIM), a single-word, multiple-choice intelligibility measure. The PSIM was adapted from the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech and is designed to plot changes in children's intelligibility across time. (Author)

A higher education version of the Diligence Inventory for Secondary Students was developed to address student effort in regard to his/her educational development. Undergraduate and graduate students completed the survey. The new version underwent some structural modifications in the scales, but both versions possessed excellent reliability and…

This article addresses issues concerned with providing testing accommodations for students with disabilities. It discusses policy and legal considerations, existing standards, research on current practice, and research on technical concerns. It recommends a research program on testing accommodations for students with disabilities. (Author/DB)

Data from parent reports on 1,803 children, derived from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories, are used to describe the course of communicative development between 8 and 30 months of age. Found wide variability in children's rate of lexical, gestural, and grammatical development; correlations between several components of language…

An 82-item multidimensional questionnaire, the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale, was recently developed in Italy to measure client satisfaction with psychiatric services. The scale contains 29 items from the English Service Satisfaction Scale. Psychometric characteristics and test use are discussed. Results support the use of the scale in service…

Looks at the large-scale experiments on the testing of oral proficiency in English, French, and German that have been carried out over the last five years in the Swedish gymnasium. Various kinds of tasks and different grading criteria have been used, and the practical problems of scheduling and of teacher training have been discussed. (nine…

This review of the Test of Early Written Language concludes that the test succeeds in identifying students who are below their peers in writing and in measuring long-term gains in written language achievement; but its format makes it difficult to document specific strengths and weaknesses and its reliability; and validity have not been…

Data are presented that demonstrate the reliability and construct validity of a 27-item behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) used to rate the performance of 757 nursing assistants in South Carolina. Results support the reliability and construct validity of the BARS and the usefulness of the BARS approach for evaluation. (SLD)

This study focused on the validation of Generalizable Reasoning Skills assessment instruments with students with disabilities in secondary vocational programs. Results indicated that student self-ratings, teacher ratings, and a performance test were internally consistent and precise measures of reasoning skills for some uses but that most…

This article briefly reviews findings from more than 250 research studies on instructional leadership and productive schools and discusses development and field testing of a needs assessment instrument for assessment of the continuing education needs of principals. (IAH)

To assess the reliability and validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in a non-Western setting, the instrument was administered to 223 teachers in Jordan. Results indicate an acceptable reliability for the MBI and suggest that it has promise for use in non-Western countries. (SLD)