Using data from 135 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders between 11 and 15 years old attending a middle school in a suburban Southwest Ohio school district, two hypothesized models of the factor structures for the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory were tested. One model represents the original Coopersmith factor structure, and the other model is…

The importance of the presentation order of items on Likert-type scales was studied. It was proposed that subjects tend to choose the first alternative acceptable to them from among the response categories, so that a primacy effect can be predicted. The effects of reversing the order of the response scale on the latent factor structure underlying…

The major objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a questionnaire based on the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 1986 guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education; and (2) use the questionnaire to obtain information regarding kindergarten teachers' beliefs and instructional…

Magnet schools have become increasingly popular as alternatives to traditional curriculum offerings and as tools to promote voluntary desegregation in urban school districts. Most evaluations of magnet schools have been concerned with monitoring objectives and compliance with regulations. Few reports assess the impact of magnet curricula on…

The Multidimensional Test of Self-Concept (MTS) is based on the assumption that an individual's perception of his/her well-being is related to the difference between the current state of that individual and the desired state. This difference between the two states may be directly measured, and a single self-concept score generated. The MTS…

The reliability, validity, and dimensionality of the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS) were studied with a group of 199 California college students. Other personality tests were administered to measure social anxiety, alienation, health locus of control, drinking-related locus of control, life satisfaction, and personal values. Sociodemographic…

An overview of the development of a computerized version of the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT) is presented. It describes the previously existing printed version of the DAT, design of the computerized adaptive edition, calibration of the test items for use in the computerized version, and two field studies that compared the Adaptive and…

A study was conducted to assess the validity of translations of two different forms of a licensing examination for cosmetologists in Florida to ensure that both Spanish and English candidates have equal chances of being licensed. The LISREL computer program was used to test the equivalence of factor structure, units of measurement, and standard…

Q-type factor analysis was used to re-analyze baseline data collected in 1957, on 47 men aged 65-91. Q-type analysis is the use of factor methods to study persons rather than tests. Although 550 variables were originally studied involving psychiatry, medicine, cerebral metabolism and chemistry, personality, audiometry, dichotic and diotic memory,…

A set of eight widely used inductive reasoning tests were investigated to determine whether or not they have different factorial structures. The eight inductive tests and three deductive tests, taken from the French Kit of Reference Tests for Cognitive Factors and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, were administered to 157 high school…

The Vocational Interest Career Examination (VOICE) is 400-item multiple choice inventory developed by the Air Force to improve the quality of vocational guidance and job placement. The VOICE is divided into four categories: job titles, work task, spare time activities, and desired learning experiences. Factor-referenced homogeneous subscales were…

An attempt was made to further the understanding of foreign language proficiencies and to formulate methods of testing them. Language testing is needed as a criterion of the efficacy of teaching. Consideration of the curriculum and analysis of the texts used would aid in test construction. A discussion of the design and content of language tests…

Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain consists of six major levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The purpose of this study is to construct a quantitative causal model for a set of tests designed to operationally define these six levels in order to further explore the validity of the cumulative…

A peer nomination assessment of 5 domains of children's competence was administered to 1,249 elementary school students. Factor analysis revealed two positive and two negative factors. Results indicate the structure of peer's perceptions of children's competence, and justify use of the measure to complement other methods of evaluation. (SLD)

An epistemological questionnaire assessing student beliefs about simple knowledge, certain knowledge, quick learning, and fixed ability to learn was administered to more than 1,000 high school students. Results demonstrate some epistemological development during high school and suggest that epistemological beliefs predict grade point average. (SLD)