In this article some results are presented relating to the dimensionality of instruments containing polytomously scored as well as dichotomously scored items, concentrating on the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress' (NAEP) mathematics and reading assessment data and several simulated datasets. The maximum likelihood factor analytic…

This paper outlines procedures used to derive variables from data in the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty; these variables were then used to create measures not expressly included as items in that survey. The derived variables were used to examine faculty satisfaction in two contexts: first, the complexity of satisfaction, and second, the…

This paper discusses the process through which a powerful multidimensional measure of affect and cognition in relation to adult learning of computing skills was derived from its early theoretical stages to its validation using structural equation modeling. The discussion emphasizes the importance of ensuring a strong substantive base from which to…

Sixty-three fifth-grade children completed daily activity diaries indicating how they spent their non-school time for 15 days. From these diaries, estimates of the minutes per day that were spent in various activities were derived. The estimate of book-reading time from the activity diary correlated with new measures of individual differences in…

The criteria for accreditation and reaffirmation published by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) have been developed to assist institutions in evaluating their effectiveness. In this study, the criteria are reviewed. An instrument to assess the Southern Association criteria was developed based on input from the association's…

This article documents the development of an instrument that would allow researchers and clinicians to assess the ways in which students differ qualitatively with respect to how they cope with the demands of evaluative situations. The Academic Anxiety Coping Scale identifies modal types of coping cognitions and behaviors that students employ…

This paper describes the development and test of an early-warning instrument for identifying at-risk students aged 10-15. A statistically sound test to identify at-risk high school students existed in the Personal Skills Map--Adolescent version (PSMA-A). This study used a modified version of PSM-A , which was renamed Personal Skills for…

H. W. Marsh's monograph (1987) on students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness in higher education is summarized. The research, which emphasized the construct validity approach, led to the development of the Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) instrument. Factor analysis resulted in identification of nine SEEQ factors--learning…

The development and validation of two instruments which measure attitudes and self-efficacy of teacher education students and practicing teachers toward computer use are described. One instrument--Attitudes toward Computer Technologies (ACT)--assesses perceived usefulness of and comfort/anxiety with computer technologies. The second…

A discriminant analysis was performed to ascertain what psycho-educational assessment variables made the greatest predictive contribution to the classification of high school students referred for Child Study Team evaluation. Thirty-nine students classified as learning disabled were compared to 47 classified as ineligible for special services.…

A study sought to determine differences in politeness strategies used in requests by American college students (N=80), Japanese students in the United States (N=34), and Japanese students in Japan (N=103). Subjects rated 61 requests in four different situations (differing in terms of addressee level and interrogative, declarative, and imperative…

While educational researchers frequently collect data from a sample of individuals on a sample of variables, they sometimes collect data involving samples of: (1) subjects; (2) variables; and (3) occasions of measurement. A multistage procedure for analyzing such three-mode data is presented, focusing on effect sizes and graphic confidence…

This report contains accounts of the scale construction, reliability, and validity of an instrument used to collect parent survey data in a study of Catholic inner-city high schools. The survey was designed to ascertain parents' involvement in their children's schooling based on parental knowledge, reasons for school choice, expectations and…

The present study describes the initial use of a measure for assessing children's imaginative predispositions and reports findings of significant relationships between oral reports of imaginativeness and selected individual and family variables. Subjects were 50 preschool children 4 to 5 years of age. Variables investigated were number of parents…

The purposes of this study are to examine the factorial invariance of responses by preadolescent males and females to a multidimensional self-concept instrument, and to demonstrate the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Sets of responses by 500 males and by 500 females were each randomly divided in half to form four groups (M1, M2, F1, and…