Placement exams are high-stakes assessments that determine many students' college trajectories. More than half of entering students at community colleges are placed into developmental education in at least one subject, based primarily on scores from these assessments, yet recent research fails to find evidence that placement into remediation…

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the five-item Evaluation to Sign Consent (ESC), a measure that can guide determination of an older adult's capacity to consent for research. Design and Methods: Information was obtained from 346 nursing home residents from six facilities who were being enrolled into…

A brief review of these tests is provided, and it is concluded that the procedures possess a number of characteristics that make the evaluation of change in intelligence a tenuous proposition. (Author)

Examined and compared the validity of Friedman's Developmental Level (DL) and Exner's Developmental Quality (DQ) as measures of cognitive development in children (N=134). Results supported the convergent and discriminant validity of both DL and DQ. The DL and DQ were most strongly related to different types of cognitive ability. (JAC)

Reviews research on ability testing for adults with visual impairments, especially the tests used for vocational assessment and counseling. The verbal scales of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised were found to be widely accepted. The problems, however, with relying solely on verbal assessment are addressed, and the need for tests for…

Criterion-referenced (Livingston) and norm-referenced (Gilmer-Feldt) techniques were used to measure the internal consistency reliability of Folsteins Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) on a large sample (N = 418) of elderly medical patients. Two administration and scoring variants of the MMSE Attention and Calculation section (Serial 7s only…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT), and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) in selecting for ethnically diverse students who may be gifted. The participants of the study were 175 students enrolled in Grades 3-5 and Grade 8 in a…

The Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery identifies cognitive deficits and localizes specific brain impairment in individuals age 15 or older. The instrument uses visual stimulus cards and an audiotape to assess performance in such areas as tactile functions, speech, arithmetic, and memory. This paper examines test administration, summation…

A paper-and-pencil test of seven of Inhelder and Piaget's formal operational schemes was developed. Multitrait-multimethod cross-validation procedures indicated that the objective test is a valid and reliable measure. It has the advantage of use in a large group setting without the need for trained clinical interviewers. (Author/PN)

The Analogical Reasoning Learning Test (ARLT) was developed for use with individuals with IQs lower than 55. A study involving 58 students (ages 6-19) with moderate to severe mental retardation found the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of this measure are high. Discriminant and predictive validity are satisfactory. (Contains…

Four major problem areas inhibit the standardized assessment of critical thinking (CT): (1) content validity; (2) construct validity; (3) technical jargon; and (4) background knowledge. Practical examples of framing multiple-choice items for assessment are suggested. In the area of content validity, new agreement about the definition of CT now…

Four studies of the reliability and validity of needs assessment instruments developed by the Taylor Public Schools, Michigan, are described. The studies focused on the stability of student scores, classification stability, content validity, and concurrent validity. Consisting of separate tests for kindergarten, first and second grade, the…

THE PURPOSES OF THIS PILOT PROJECT WERE (1) TO ATTEMPT TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF THE LOCAL PROGRAM ON BOTH INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN AND THE GROUP AND (2) TO INVESTIGATE THE SENSITIVITY OF THE TEST INSTRUMENTS EMPLOYED IN EVALUATING SUCH A PROGRAM. SIXTY-ONE CHILDREN WERE ENROLLED IN THE LOCAL HEADSTART PROGRAM AND WERE ADMINISTERED THE STANFORD-BINET,…

Theoretical framework, instrument development, and psychometric qualities are reviewed for some measures of learning style currently in use with adults. Instruments reviewed include: (1) Kolb's Learning Style Inventory I; (2) Kolb's Learning Style Inventory II; (3) the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; (4) the Productivity Environmental Preferences…

This report presents an overview of research related to the development of the "Wisconsin Tests of Testimony and Reasoning Assessment," a battery of seven tests for assessing student development in the mastery of relevant concepts and skills of verbal argument for grades 10-12. Provided are (1) a discussion of the rationale for and…