The 12 subtests of the Ball Aptitude Battery (BAB) listed in the administration manual were described. The reviewer believes this aptitude battery, designed for use with high school students and adults in job selection and placement, needs major improvements. It is suggested that the BAB be used solely for research purposes. (DWH)

Finds some evidence that out-of-level tests are more suitable and reliable for poor readers than are on-level tests. (FL)

The interrelationships of a variety of student aptitude and achievement measures are examined in a sample of 88 Australian undergraduate students, and the critial role of the data analyst in examining the relationships is discussed. (MSE)

Describes a revised readability formula for Vietnamese that differentiates between Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese compound words and discusses its validity and reliability. (HOD)

The Mikulecky Behavioral Reading Attitude Measure (MBRAM) was designed to measure secondary and postsecondary respondents' attitudes toward reading based on Krathwohl's affective development model. This study investigated the factorial validity of the MBRAM using the responses of 411 gifted junior high school students. (Author/BS)

The development and validation of an instrument to assess the needs and concerns of elementary school substitutes are described. A literature review identified nine categories of needs for substitute teachers. A factor analysis of item responses for a sample of elementary school substitutes corroborated the existence of nine underlying factors.…

Identifies and critiques a number of instruments that measure developmental aspects of play and leisure, the meaning and significance of leisure, attitudes toward play, the environment of play, and ethnographic and behavior stream methodology. Information on the reliability and validity of the instruments is presented. (SK)

Attempts to identify the age range during which Type A behaviors emerge and begin to stabilize. A total of 633 children residing in two communities were assessed on the Matthews Youth Test for Health on two occasions approximately 1 year apart. (Author/RH)

Assesses age differences in the reliability of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for children commissioned by the National Institute for Mental Health. The interview, covering a broad range of clinically relevant symptoms and behaviors, was administered to 242 children and their parents. Parent and child were interviewed separately and were…

The Self-Image Questionnaire for Young Adolescents (SIQYA), an adaptation of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ), designed to measure aspects of self-image among young adolescents, was administered to two groups of sixth graders. The development of the SIQYA is described and reliability and validity results are presented. (EGS)

Investigated the validity of the assumption that arranging items in objective tests in order of increasing difficulty increases student motivation and produces more reliable tests. Results indicate that test reliability was largely independent of item sequence. (Author/JN)

Concludes that there are numerous problems with the test studied. Argues that the abilities it assesses and their relationship to reading and reading instruction are not sufficiently understood to warrant the test's use. (FL)

Relationships between intelligence test scores and measures derived from reaction time and perceptual speed procedures were investigated. Only three reaction time measures produced correlations greater than .25 with a general intelligence factor. Test-retest reliability of reaction time measures was low. The reaction time-intelligence relationship…

The indices of item difficulty and discrimination, the coefficients of effective length, and the average item information for both single- and multiple-answer items using six different scoring formulas were computed and compared. These formulas vary in terms of the assignment of partial credit and the correction for guessing. (Author/BW)

This article reviews the Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS), an individually administered achievement battery that consists of skills tests in reading, mathematics, and spelling as well as an optional writing exercise. BASIS is found to be an effective and efficient means of assessing basic skills. (Author/EGS)