What type of items, keyed positively or negatively, makes social-emotional skill or personality scales more valid? The present study examines the different criterion validities of true- and false-keyed items, before and after correction for acquiescence. The sample included 12,987 children and adolescents from 425 schools of the State of São Paulo…

Objectives: To evaluate an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) adapted for social work in a lab course and examine the degree to which it predicts competence in the practicum. Method: 125 Masters students participated in a one-scenario OSCE and wrote responses to standardized reflection questions. OSCE performance and reflections were…

Supervisory performance appraisals may be of limited utility in the validation of bilingual tests because incumbents are often hired to be the only employee in a unit who possesses the skills necessary to do the job. In an effort to provide criterion-related validity for four equivalent forms of a Spanish/English bilingual test for school district…

Although by traditional measures of test validity, the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is not culture biased, it, along with the English Composition Test and the Test of Standard Written English, reinforces a narrow view of academic excellence that excludes culturally different youths. Designed to prevent admission errors, the…

Some of the controversial issues involved in the use of objective tests by institutions of higher education, as this use affects the selection and attendance by members of minority groups, are reviewed. Admissions committees now rely on the ability of a test to predict students' performance at their institution to guide their selection. However,…

The composite of Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) subtests used to select applicants for entry-level training in Army clerical schools was evaluated by correlating composite scores with training performance scores. Comparisons were made between the multiple R for this optimal set of predictors and that for the composite of…