The present study describes the construction of a scale for reliably measuring the extent to which parents form generalized expectancies of the degree to which their children's behaviors are contingent on their own actions as parents. The original 72 statements included in the Parenting Locus of Control (PLOC) scale ascribed cause to one of four…

The American College Testing Program (ACT) developed tests as a result of the College Outcome Measures Project (COMP). These instruments were intended for evaluation of nontraditional and traditional postsecondary education programs. They measure skills rather than information. The study was designed to check on several aspects of use of the COMP…

Fifty profiles of published tests of writing proficiency are compiled alphabetically with a thorough guide to indirect assessment of writing skill. The profiles are designed to facilitate a general screening of available test options. The elements included in each profile are as follows: test name, publication date, publisher, administration time,…

Factor analysis can be a valuable tool for assessing validity; however, the reliabilities of identified factors must be attended to. This study examined the impacts of item variance on factor stability and structure. The attempt was to determine empirically whether unnumbered graphic scales scored using a larger number of scale steps produce more…

The problem engendered by the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) Test is one of instrument integrity (II). II is delimited by validity, reliability, and utility of MFF as a measure of the reflective-impulsive construct. Validity, reliability and utility of construct assessment may be improved by utilizing: (1) a prototypic scoring model that will…

Two studies were made of the validity and reliability of a Learning Style Inventory (LSI) for postsecondary deaf individuals. The study's a priori definition of learning style was multidimensional and included aspects of field dependence/independence and perceived locus of Nineteen students were administered the LSI and immediately interviewed on…

A brief, nontechnical state-of-the-art review of four common instruments and current practices in the field of scholastic aptitude testing is presented. The instruments include: the 1971 Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT), 1973 Henmon-Nelson Tests of Mental Ability (H-NTMA), 1979 Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) and the 1970 Short Form Test of…

The implications of standardized testing for minority students are explored. Test terminology is described in terms of objectivity, standardization, reliability, and validity. Primarily, however, the paper reviews the objectivity of standardized testing, that is, of those tests which are either norm-referenced or criterion-referenced. The use of…

An examination of typical situations concerning the status of a variable is followed by a discussion of the measurement and empirical problems involved in measuring current status. Arguments for more consideration of variability, particularly individual variation, are presented. Among the problems discussed are (1) describing large samples through…

A Conference Role Semantic Differential was developed and field-tested as a brief, diagnostic measure of conference role performance of administrators. Principal components analysis of 52 staff member's evaluations of three institutional researchers yielded one task and three interpersonal skill factors which demonstrated the construct validity of…

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Form M was constructed as a replacement for AFOQT Form L in Fiscal Year 1974. The new form serves the same purposes as its predecessor and possesses basically the same characteristics. It yields Pilot, Navigator-Technical, Officer Quality, Verbal, and Quantitative composite scores. Three sets of conversion…

This study was undertaken to determine reliability and validity estimates for a newly developed preschool inventory of cognitive functioning which provides many advantages over traditionally utilized measures. A predominantly pictorial stimulus-psychomotor response set was the format for the test. The test consisted of a series of 61 items divided…

This report summarizes the findings of Jackson and Lahadern who used a revised form of the Student Opinion Poll (SOP) and a questionnaire to study the intercorrelations of attitudes and achievement. The study found that: (1) first graders have attitudes toward school work but these attitudes were not differentiated toward specific school subjects;…

The Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test was developed to measure the extent to which individuals experience test anxiety. In at least two published studies, the authors claim to have used the test when in fact the response format was changed from that used in the original instrument and the "buffer" items were omitted. To investigate…

It was theorized that an answer-until-correct procedure, whereby an examinee marks responses to each multiple-choice question until feedback indicates that the correct answer has been marked, would yield scores of greater reliability and validity than conventional number-right procedure. Two papers and an application exercise for an undergraduate…