This paper reports the development and testing of measures of teachers' attitudes toward testing and appropriate use of tests. A random sample of 555 practicing teachers in Wyoming were surveyed by mail (81 percent response rate). Five subscales assessing attitudes toward use of classroom and standardized tests were identified: (1) standardized…

The test reliability of two tests of family functioning--the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES-II)--was studied in 111 Anglo American, Black American, and Mexican American Families. The sample included children in grades three to six, as well as adults. The FES was administered to the…

Using factor analysis (both principal factor solutions and rotated factor solutions) to search for underlying statistical commonality among 12 indicators of community satisfaction in 6 Colorado communities, the research explores various dimensions of community satisfaction that may be important across different communities. The communities under…

Research has recognized that anxiety may exert a debilitating effect on students' academic performance; however, many studies of test anxiety have been limited by their failure to consider sex differences. Two studies were conducted to analyze sex differences of the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and achievement correlates and to validate a factor…

Confirmatory factor analysis is presented as providing appropriate techniques for the analysis and evaluation of questionnaires and tests if the content of the measure can be identified as consisting of groups of items, with each group measuring only a single trait. This approach is contrasted with latent trait theory which assumes (and does not…

After an examination of the "macro" research approach, which deals with a population of adults, and the "micro" approach, which begins with a population of adult students, the micro approach was selected to provide reliable statistical data regarding certain characteristics of University Extension, University of California,…

The influence of empathy on observers' attributions for an outcome achieved by an actor was examined as well as self-presentational strategies when observers either expected to assume the actor's role later (Role-Playing). On videotape, observer-subjects (N=160) watched an actor succeed or fail at an interpersonal influence task, after being given…

To determine the dominant ecosystem types in nonmetropolitan counties and the role of ecological factors in determination of levels of total and age-specific migration patterns within nonmetropolitan areas and ecosystem types for 1950-60 and 1960-70, 30 ecological variables representing POET concepts of population, organization, environment, and…

The study focuses on the development of a valid and reliable instrument to measure independent variables of cooperating teacher behaviors. The secondary purpose was to determine if any of the demographic variables pertaining to the student teacher and the cooperating teacher were important in assessing the performance levels of cooperating…

Latent trait theory is used as a basis for a definition of item bias, and an experiment is described in which a test of vocabulary items was not found to be biased when administered to two groups of high school students, one group of 58 black students and the other 168 white students. The experiment for the detection of bias began with separate…

Students undergoing a mastery-variable time-variable undergraduate educational psychology course were studied in order to determine the effects of level of mastery chosen (by the students for a final grade) on time taken to reach criterion level over five course examinations. When equated for trials to criterion, no such grade aspiration effect…

This study examined the teaching effectiveness of a random sample of the University of Lethbridge Bachelor of Education graduates and related various components of their success to the performance of those same individuals as students within the teacher education program. Results are discussed in four major sections: (1) a description of the…

A sixth-grade mathematics test was evaluated in two different ways, and the evaluations were compared. One method of evaluation was to use the Rasch model for item analysis and to accept or reject items on the basis of the extent to which the data fit the model. The other method of evaluation was to ask school superintendents and teachers to rate…

A STUDY WAS MADE TO DISCOVER THE CURRICULAR AND ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WERE NEEDED IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF GEORGIA TO INSURE BETTER EDUCATION FOR MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN. THE EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, SOCIAL STATUS, AND EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF RETARDED CHILDREN WERE STUDIED AND EVALUATED, USING THREE DIFFERENT SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS FOR…

EVIDENCE ABOUT THE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF PRESUMED VOCATIONAL MATURITY FACTOR SCORES WAS OBTAINED BY STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACTORS OF VOCATIONAL MATURITY AND A GROUP OF CONCURRENT VARIABLES DEEMED RELEVANT TO VOCATIONAL MATURITY. THESE VARIABLES WERE CLASSIFIED INTO FIVE GROUPS--FAMILY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, ABILITY AND ACHIEVEMENT,…