Describes a new instrument designed for brief administration, to be educationally relevant, and to measure five domains of adaptive behavior: language development, independent functioning, family role performance and economic-vocational activity, and socialization. An initial study indicates the instrument has high reliability. (Author)

Contrary to findings with older children, no sex differences occurred in scoring on the anxiety scale. Kindergarten children generally scored higher on the anxiety scale than did older children. Lie scale scores were comparable to those of other primary grade children. (Author)

The effects of two item formats on item difficulty and item discrimination indices for mathematics problem solving multiple-choice tests were investigated. One format required identifying the proper "set-up" for the item; the other format required complete solving of the item. (Author/JKS)

Three studies demonstrate that the Inventory of Family Feelings, a measure of family affective structure, has high reliability and construct and concurrent validity. It is appropriate for affective comparisons by age, sex, and ordinal position of children and for measuring change after family or marital therapy, or after predictable stress…

The Junior Index of Motivation (JIM) Scale was translated and administered to 363 Hungarian students, aged 11-14. Teacher ratings of individuals' motivation and data on achievement, creativity, and intelligence were also collected. Results confirmed the JIM Scale's reliability and showed academic motivation correlates similar to those found by…

The Ethical Reasoning Inventory (ERI) is an objective test derived from Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview. It correlated higher with Kohlberg , and has higher internal consistency than the Defining Issues Test and the Moral Judgment Scale. (CP)

The Self-Perception Inventory (SPI) was administered to a group of students in junior high and later when they were in senior high. SPI scores seem to be rather unstable, reflect little change, and have limited usefulness for evaluation purposes. (Author)

A study with Mexican-American children showed the internal consistency reliability coefficients for the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) were high and comparable to those reported in the WRAT manual. A high relationship was found between WRAT and Metropolitan Achievement Test scores. WRAT meets reliability and validity requirements with Mexican…

Teachers need valid information to judge the types of programs, instruction, and colleges best suited to students. Teachers appear to support the use of standardized tests to provides some of that information. Abolishing such tests may lead to dependence on more subjective measures, resulting in inequities in placement and selection. (FG)

Explores need for development of validation and certification procedures. Performance measures used for these procedures must come from on-job experiences. Validity of measures depends on similarity of participant's performance to job exercises. Outlines how to develop reliable job performance measures necessary for job certification and…

Assesses the applicability of corrective feedback (CF) testing, which allows multiple attempts to respond to a test item, to the community college classroom. Compares CF testing to single answer testing, especially with regard to reliability, equitability, and effect on student motivation. (DD)

Members of 118 families were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; a cognitive test battery; and tests of visual, auditory, and figure memory. Factor analysis of memory scores resulted in four-factor solution. Significant spouse correlations and significant midparent-midchild regressions were found for some of the memory measures.…

Focuses primarily on summative evaluation of library-use instruction programs, using the development and results of a systematic assessment of such a program at DePauw University. Tabulated statistics and the evaluation instrument are provided. (Author/JD)

A comparison of nonverbal with verbal clinical group interventions suggested that some traditional self-report devices show less differentiation between these two interventions than do measures of group cohesion. A strong, replicable manipulation tested these findings, which were consistent with previous research. (Author/BEF)

Discusses the concept of communicative competence in second language learning and various models for testing this skill. (AM)