In this investigation, methodological and substantive issues regarding early mastery motivation (also termed competence motivation and effectance motivation) were examined longitudinally using a primarily middle-class sample of 37 children observed at 1 and 3.5 years of age. Data on cognitive competence and mastery motivation were collected in…

Although frequently attacked as invalid, demeaning, biased, illegal, and irrelevant, preemployment testing procedures appear to be increasing in popularity. Many prominent companies and organizations are making extensive use of tests. Part of the resurgence of testing is attributable to clearer definitions of acceptable practice. Legal precedents…

The statewide teaching performance assessment instruments being used in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida were examined. Forty-one reliability and validity studies regarding the instruments in use in each state were collected from state departments and universities. Georgia uses the Georgia Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument. North…

The Association of American Medical Colleges is conducting research to develop, implement, and evaluate a Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) essay testing program. Essay administration in the spring and fall of 1985 and 1986 suggested that additional research was needed on the development of topics which elicit similar skills and meet standard…

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that persons who experience a high degree of test anxiety also experience decrements in performance in evaluative situations. A study was conducted to develop a test anxiety questionnaire for student nurses in order to identify test anxiety. A 40-item, self-report questionaire was developed by two panels of…

This document presents a two-part study. In the first part, open-ended questions based on interview studies were administered via paper-and-pencil tasks to 76 sixth and eighth grade students. In the second part, the earth and sun relationship questions were extracted, modified, and given to 178 seventh grade students. In part one, the performance…

The Personal Profile System (PPS) is a psychological testing instrument that has been widely used. The construct validity of the PPS was studied through a review of the literature. This paper organizes the literature review into three broad categories: the background of the PPS; the reliability of the PPS; and the validity of the PPS. The PPS is a…

The National Teacher Examination (NTE) was given to a sample of 64 new trades and industrial (T&I) teachers attending 6-week workshops in Maryland during three summers. Each summer 18 to 25 teachers took the three tests in the Core Battery of the NTE, as well as a selection of other tests. The project sought to determine the pass-fail ratio of…

This study describes the University of Connecticut's Program for Learning Disabled College Students psychoeducational evaluation process with its components for analysis of aptitude, information processing, and academic skill levels. The resulting report is used to assist students in planning a course of study and delineating support services…

This guide presents ratings of assessment instruments for use by speech-language pathologists with preschool students. Tests are reviewed in alphabetical order on forms filled out by practicing speech-language pathologists, including data on speech components covered by each test, age range, factors of norms where norms are used, reliability,…

The development of the Depression Proneness Rating Scale (DPRS) and three investigations into its reliability, validity, and factor structure are described. Subjects of all three studies were university undergraduates. The first study (n=100) found a stability coefficient of 0.82 for the DPRS over a test-retest (Time 1-Time 2) interval of 9 weeks.…

The Netherlands' secondary education system is highly differentiated, with four different school types for four scholastic ability levels. Final examinations must accommodate these four levels, and require a test-independent definition of the intended final ability levels as well as a sample-free evaluation of the range of ability levels at which…

To test the validity of the Watson-Barker Listening Test (WBLT), a study was conducted based on the hypothesis that there is a curvilinear relationship between receiver apprehension and listening ability. Subjects, 120 undergraduate speech students, completed the Receiver Apprehension Test (RAT) and the WBLT. Analysis of the data revealed a…

This study is an attempt at a cohesive characterization of the concept of essay reliability. As such, it takes as a basic premise that previous and current practices in reporting reliability estimates for essay tests have certain shortcomings. The study provides an analysis of these shortcomings--partly to encourage a fuller understanding of the…

The psychometric properties of an instrument designed to assess study behaviors of college and university students were examined. A convenience sample of 1052 undergraduates at a group of midwestern colleges and universities and at a four-year college in a United States Caribbean territory responded to the Study Behavior Inventory (SBI), Form D. A…