Reports on the development of the Adolescent Activities Checklist (AAC) which is comprised of 100 items that assess pleasant and unpleasant activities. The AAC subscales demonstrated high internal consistency and homogeneity. Results suggest the AAC is a reliable index of the frequency of pleasant and unpleasant activities reported by adolescents.…

Evaluated psychometric features and correlates of the Hopelessness Scale for Children. Results indicated the scale was internally consistent, item-total score correlations and test-retest reliability were in the moderate range, and individual items discriminated high and low hopelessness children. Hopelessness correlated positively with depression…

Argues that classical test theory cannot be used at the item level on "authentic" language tests. However, if the total score is derived by adding the scores of a number of different and independent parts, test reliability can be estimated. Suggests using the Classical Latent Additives model to examine test-part homogeneity. (Author/SED)

Describes research on a scale measuring adjustment to college. A 52-item self-report Likert-type scale was administered in each of three successive years to freshman students. Reliability and validity were assessed. Criterion variables included attrition, psychological service requests, grades, election to an academic honorary society, and social…

The Screening Kit of Language Development (SKOLD) was designed to meet the following criteria: validity for 2.5 - 4-year-old children, standardization for speakers of standard and Black English, and appropriateness for paraprofessional screeners. This paper describes the development, content, administration, scoring, reliability, and validity of…

Content validity is an overriding problem in all measures evaluating written expression because there is no complete model of written language. Direct atomistic measures have greater instructional utility in diagnostic assessment, grouping, monitoring and decision making, reporting student progress, and giving feedback to students than do indirect…

The Computer Attitude Scale evaluates student attitudes concerning computers and computer-related programs. This study examines the reliability and factorial validity of the scale and its subscales. Data indicate the instrument is an effective and reliable method of measuring secondary school students' attitudes toward learning about, and using,…

Examines influences of construct, writer, assignment, and rater variables on the evaluation of handwriting products and investigates the instructional applicability of handwriting scales. Results indicated handwriting scales do not provide an adequate means of determining competence, individualizing instruction, or monitoring progress. (Author/ABB)

The Test of Sensory Integration, which measures preschoolers' ability to organize, process, and synthesize input from different sensory channels, was evaluated in terms of domain and construct validity, interobserver reliability and decision reliability, and retest stability. Results suggested that total test scores can be used reliably and…

The article reviews validity and reliability studies on the informal reading inventory, a diagnostic instrument to identify reading grade-level placement and strengths and weaknesses in work recognition and comprehension. Gives suggestions to improve the validity and reliability of existing inventories and to evaluate them in newly published…

Reports an overall positive response to the tests reviewed, with caveats regarding test reliability and validity. (AEA)

Reviews underlying reliability, theoretical assumptions, and validity of several "fear of success" tests. Also examines the validity of the fear of success construct itself. Concludes that continued use of the label "fear of success" only reinforces belief in a scientifically unfounded concept of intrapsychic difference between…

A statistical method for testing the agreement between a judge's assessment of an object or subject and a known standard is developed and shown to be superior to two other methods which appear in the literature. (Author/JKS)

A Web-based survey of 25 experts in testing theory and large-scale assessment examined the utility of out-of-level testing for making decisions about students and schools. Survey respondents were given a series of scenarios and asked to judge the degree to which out-of-level testing would affect the reliability and validity of test scores within…

The paper discusses the key criteria of good language tests: practicality, validity, and reliability.