Focusing on the problems of validity and representativeness of samples, a study examined the history of literacy in the United States since 1880 in order to set the contemporary debate on test scores, literacy and reading performance in the longer-range perspective of the last 100 years. The quality of the data and the arguments of literacy…

This study sought to validate two measures of social cognitive development: a measure of conflict resolution (Shantz and Shantz, 1982), and a social rule measure (Shantz, 1982). Participants were 214 kindergarten through fourth grade children from two suburban schools, one a public school and the other a Catholic parochial school in the Chicago…

This document describes the development and assessment of a methodology for generating on-the-job-training (OJT) task proficiency assessment instruments. The Task Evaluation Form (TEF) development procedures were derived to address previously identified deficiencies in the evaluation of OJT task proficiency. The TEF development procedures allow…

Steps are outlined in the construction of two self-report assessment scales designed to measure general life satisfaction and leisure activity levels of developmentally disabled adults. The potential usefulness of a reliable, valid self-report instrument as a measurement tool in client programming is noted in the context of a review of similar…

Measures of adults' attitudes toward nuclear war are briefly discussed, and Mayton's Modified World Affairs Questionnaire (MWAQ) is described. The 23-item MWAQ was developed from Novak and Lerner's World Affairs Questionnaire, a nuclear war attitude measure by Mayton and Delamater, and related interview items by Jeffries. When the MWAQ was…

Drawing on information and references in the ERIC system, this literature review describes research related to a child's developmental placement. The issues examined include school entrance age; predictive validity, reliability, and features of Gesell School Readiness Assessment; retention; and the effectiveness of developmental placement. A…

The two most commonly used language proficiency tests offered in the United States by foreign countries' chambers of commerce are those of Spain and France. The Spanish test has been introduced recently and has no rigorous and uniform set of rules governing its administration at all centers. Issues arising from the administration of this exam…

The study evaluated the reliability and validity of SCAN, a measurement technique for assessing class involvement in the learning process (classroom climate for learning). Concurrent validity was investigated by comparing SCAN ratings to a point-sampling of on-task performance behaviors. The Engaged Time Observation Instrument (ETOI) was used to…

Information necessary for informed use by practitioners of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) tests is presented. Assessment instruments that (1) have as a basic assumption that thinking skills can be taught; (2) provide information that can be useful for instructional planning related to complex thought processes; and (3) have content that is…

This report describes a diagnostic instrument designed for school districts to use in assessing the training needs of bilingual staff. The construction and trial administration of the instrument involved several stages. Among these were the development of a pool of subscaled questions, questionnaire forms, and a pool of instrument questions. The…

This booklet provides information about the Juvenile Counselor Examination developed as part of the evaluation procedures for juvenile counselor candidates in the Standards and Training for Corrections program in California. The four sections of the booklet (1) review the nature and purpose of cutoff scores in general; (2) recommend and justify a…

In response to the need to develop reliable methods of evaluating Texas students' achievement of essential competencies, this study was designed to develop multiple-choice test items in food and nutrition in all comprehensive homemaking education courses, the semester course in food and nutrition, and all occupational methods of teaching food and…

The Regents Competency Program has two basic purposes: (1) to assure the early identification of students who need help in developing reading, writing, and mathematics skills and (2) to assure that students have acquired adequate competency in these skills before receiving a high school diploma. The New York State Preliminary Competency Test in…

Alternate forms of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) were administered five separate times to 57 men and women of military service age. The objective was to determine to what extent means and cross-session correlations are stable over several administrations. Ten individual subtests, the derived ASVAB area composites and the…

A comparison was made of Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty and informal reading inventory (IRI) independent and instructional level designations for 15 children, aged 9 to 11 years, who had been referred to a diagnostic clinic for reading assessment. The children's reading performance was first scored according to procedures outlined in the…