Content and task dimensions of language arts items were studied using factor analytic techniques. These items were developed to measure concept attainment using a completely crossed design with 30 concepts and 12 tasks. Conventional factor analyses were performed, separately for boys and girls, for concept scores and for task scores. Three-mode…

A Canadian study designed to develop a reading readiness battery which would include proven types of prereading measures and newly conceived predictors is discussed. The goals of the study were to identify and develop indexes of reading readiness for the child's concept of the reading task, his perceptual ability, his linguistic competence and his…

Following up on an earlier study which found that blacks and whites differed significantly on a 54-item development scale designed to measure effective individual functioning, or "maturity," this report considers whether the content of the Psychosocial Maturity Scale (PSM) is biased in favor of white children and if this bias invalidates…

Jensen (1969) proposed a two-factor model of intelligence by which mental abilities can be divided into memory and higher mental processes labeled "Level I" and "Level II" respectively. This study employed statistical methods characteristic of construct validation to examine a battery of memory, intelligence, and achievement…

This presentation reports the results of a national assessment study of parenting skills. The aim of this study was to provide direction for the development of a television series to improve and increase awareness of parenting skills among parents of young children and prospective parents. Over 200 existing media items were located and evaluated;…

The development of the Arizona Course/Instructor Evaluation Questionnaire is described. Related research is presented demonstrating the reliability and validity of the Arizona Course/Instructor Evaluation Questionnaire. (Author/JKS)

A pharmacy evaluation instrument was constructed to differentiate the population of pharmacy instructors on several student-rated characteristics. The methodology was designed to assess the stability of the factor structure over time. The relative "efficiency" of the pharmacy instrument was compared to a campus-wide faculty evaluation instrument.…

Consistent with the distinction between student ratings (ratings assigned) and class ratals (ratings received), various properties of the FACE Instrument scales were investigated. (RC)

Factor patterns obtained under three different sets of directions were compared. A sample of 414 graduate education students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: administrator use, instructor use, and student use. The results indicated that the factors could not be considered invariant across the three conditions. (Editor/LBH)

Tests a scaling instrument that measures an individual's power in four communication situations. Shows that positive and negative personal power and reward power are three stable factors accounting for seven-tenths of the total variance. Supports the hypothesis that perceived interpersonal power varies across communication contexts. (RL)

Spanish and English readability formulas were applied to sample passages from learning materials and textbooks used in bilingual classrooms in order to ascertain their analytic and predictive capabilities. Two main factors, word difficulty and sentence difficulty, accounted for most of the total variance in readability research using factor…

A 21-item Likert scale to measure teachers' burnout was developed. Factor analysis supported its validity and determined its four subscales: (1) Career Satisfaction; (2) Perceived Administrative Support; (3) Coping with Job-Related Stress; and (4) Attitudes towards Students. Additional analyses indicated good reliability and validity. (Items are…

It was hypothesized, following attribution theory, that psychological closeness to the perpetrators of delinquency would lead to its being explained in terms of external factors. Consistent with these hypotheses, the 15-year-old subjects endorsed less individualistic explanations and stressed the social functions of delinquency. (Author/LMO)

Uses structural equation modeling to combine traditional ideas from repeated-measures ANOVA with some traditional ideas from longitudinal factor analysis. The model describes a latent growth curve model that permits the estimation of parameters representing individual and group dynamics. (Author/RH)

This study analyzed 182 educators' beliefs about their ability to manage maladaptive classroom behaviors. A factor analysis of teacher manageability ratings demonstrated that, by changing the method used to group behaviors, the structure of a teacher checklist also changes. The most difficult behavior to manage was "lack of…