A home assessment measure was developed as an economical alternative to parent interviews. The 48 items measured five factors: parent expectations and aspirations; family activeness; independence; language development; and support of school and education. Correlations with standardized reading and mathematics achievement tests were based on…

The selection and development of six tests measuring the ability to receive and interpret nonverbal communications are described, as is an attempt to gather evidence of their value as predictors of success in two occupations requiring high levels of interpersonal skills-- psychology and counseling. The tests were: (1) Inter-Person Perception Test;…

Although the design of the writing task itself may present assessment problems, the scoring of the piece of writing raises the greatest difficulties for large-scale testing of writing ability. A study investigated whether teachers and staff members of the Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) (1) scored the same way, (2) agreed with each other in…

A project is described that was undertaken to investigate: (1) how long a cloze test has to be to achieve optimum reliability without wasting anyone's time; and (2) how cloze tests should be scored in order to obtain maximum reliability. The literature recommended 50 deletions in order to provide for an adequate sample of examinee's abilities; it…

A study was conducted to explore the issue of testing to determine reading levels of students. A group of 624 fourth and sixth grade students from 13 schools participated in the study, which compared results from an informal reading inventory (IRI), a standardized achievement test, a group reading inventory (GRI), and a cloze test. Pupil…

This manual sets forth comprehension guidelines and procedures for selecting instruments to measure educational growth, achievement, and outcomes. The necessary criteria are presented in a checklist format, permitting local district personnel to evaluate the worth of testing instruments before adoption. A subset of the criteria are defined as…

A review of the research literature considers the following questions: (1) what is the general quality of the information resulting from systematic student evaluation of faculty effectiveness?; and (2) what are the consequences of soliciting this information and making it available to those people who may utilize it in their decision making…

Research related to the multiple choice test item is reported, as it is conducted by educational technologists in Japan. Sato's number of hypothetical equivalent alternatives is introduced. The based idea behind this index is that the expected uncertainty of the m events, or alternatives, be large and the number of hypothetical, equivalent…

This report: (1) validates results of a previous survey of attitudes of wives of Navy enlisted personnel designed to determine impact of Navy use in dissemination of pertinent information to enlisted men's wives early in their association with the Navy. Survey data in this study were analyzed on the basis of wives' willingness for their husbands…

Doll play activities were used to measure attitude change in 270 black, Mexican American, and white students who participated in a multicultural awareness project. The children, aged second through sixth grade, visited People Place Multicultural Center, where they experienced six different settings simulating the cultures of Africa, China,…

Potential screening and assessment methods for young children were examined with the fourfold aim of (1) determining what early factors are predictive of later child development and health status; (2) including a broad range of child problems and etiological factors, especially focusing on those for which assessment methods are most needed; (3)…

A test was constructed to measure a person's ability to produce Spanish sounds which are considered difficult but which must be mastered for fluency in Spanish. The test was used with learners from kindergarten to college. It was consensually validated by a panel of bilingual specialists after analyzing it according to contrastive analysis…

This study was undertaken to examine the reliability and validity of a student-designed instrument developed to provide feedback to high school teachers on student perception of teacher performance. The Student Observation of Teachers and Teaching Techniques (StOTT) questionnaire was developed by a board of eleventh- and twelfth-grade Pennsylvania…

The relationship between academic performance and cognitive tempo as measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) was investigated in 66 learning disabled children (ages 7 to 12 years). Results of a simple correlation analysis indicated the test to be a sensitive predictor of achievement; however, this relationship was substantially…

This report from the Senate Library Committee at the University of Pittsburgh evaluates a widely publicized study of monograph and periodical use conducted at Pitt by Professor Allen Kent and his associates from 1975-1977. Areas of the study which are examined include structure in text and footnotes, and experimental design, execution, and…