Reports the development of a multidimensional instrument of stable coping styles that focuses on whether one's problem-focused coping efforts were facilitating or inhibiting progress toward problem resolution. Describes steps of scale construction, provides initial estimates of stability of factor structure and construct, concurrent, and…

The validity and reliability of a scale measuring attitudes toward foreign language were studied with 536 high school seniors. Results of principal components analysis identified five interpretable dimensions and suggested the need to improve the internal structure of the measure. (SLD)

Distinguishes between school and class environment, examining research on teachers' perception of school environment and students' perception of classroom environment. Describes the Work Environment Scale and the School-Level Environment Questionnaire, and reports on the use of these instruments in investigating differences between high school and…

Test specifications need to take a middle road so that they are not so general that instructional targeting is impossible and not so specific that only unitary assessment targets are fostered. Using illustrative sample items provides a good means of communicating the items eligible to be tested. (SLD)

The Infant Parent Social Interaction Code was developed to measure infant-parent interaction utilizing four parent variables, four infant variables, and one dyadic variable for which operational definitions were developed. Preliminary and validation studies with a total of 232 infants and toddlers suggest the measure reveals important interactive…

Presents data from validation study of American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency (OPI). Distinctness of OPI ratings from scores generated by Test of English as a Foreign Language and one other examination is assessed on basis of comparisons among 70 sets of scores from students of English as Second Language who…

Results indicated that the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales II, one subscale of the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale, and all but one subscale of the Children's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory produced equivalent measures of an English-speaking Hispanic sample and an Anglo-American sample. (BC)

Families (n=725) with young children with disabilities completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and their scores were compared with the PSI's normative sample. No differences were found between samples on parent-related stress, supporting the normality or family strengths perspective. A normative table of PSI scores for families with children…

This study, involving 1,069 children (ages 9-14) referred for evaluation of learning disability, used 3 definitions of reading disability to provide criteria for 5 groups of children based on discrepancy between intelligence quotient (IQ) and academic achievement. Results question the validity of segregating children with reading deficiencies…

The ability of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), average achievement test scores, and high school class rank to predict students' grades was examined for 3,816 undergraduate students entering the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) in 1983 and 1984. Results suggest that the SAT makes a relatively small contribution to prediction. (SLD)

This article describes the Course Experience Questionnaire, a student evaluation of teaching performance. The article discusses the instrument's theoretical basis, statistical qualities, and national trials in Australian higher education. The questionnaire is seen to offer a reliable, verifiable, and useful means of evaluating teaching quality in…

Standardized tests in speech and language may be culturally biased for use with rural children. Recommends (1) training school personnel for cultural awareness; (2) purchasing culture-free tests; (3) developing local norms and conducting item analyses on tests; (4) identifying bias and modifying testing procedures; (5) accepting dialectical…

"Convergent validity" of preliminary Spanish version of Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory was studied. CAP uses ecological-systemic model of child maltreatment to evaluate individual, family, and social factors facilitating physical child abuse. Depression and marital adjustment were measured in three groups of mothers. Results found…

Twenty students and 45 adults with visual impairments or blindness were administered a test of tactile concentration and short-term memory involving the reproduction of the order of finger stimulation using the Finger Knocking Box. Reliability and validity scores indicated encouraging results with use of the instrument. (JDD)

Analysis of spontaneous language samples of 10 children (ages 8-9) with specific language impairments found that interviews were a reliable, valid, and efficient assessment context, eliciting the same profile of behaviors as a freeplay context without altering diagnostic classifications. (Author/JDD)