Each spring, the New York City Public Schools conduct evaluations of first-graders to determine which students are in need of remedial reading and mathematics programs. A new measure was designed to be more reliable than the multiple-choice, standardized tests used previously. A checklist of 20 items relating to language arts, reading, and…

This paper examines issues in designing post-school follow-up studies in special education. The examination focuses on survey research techniques, which are widely used in the investigation of post-school adjustment of former students with handicaps. In special education, survey research studies are used commonly to address many important…

Results of testing the validity and reliability of the Australian second language proficiency ratings (ASLPR) are presented. In addition to providing a framework for planning English as a second language programs for immigrants to Australia, the ASLPR was developed to specify second language proficiency in terms of practical language skills. The…

This paper discusses issues which make it difficult to measure the teaching performance of college faculty. The issues discussed are those which could lead to ethical and legal problems should they be ignored--those issues which are sensitive because personnel decisions are made on the basis of evaluations. Simplistic methods, such as student…

The content of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act is described, its current interpretations are examined, and the implications for developing a responsible language and citizenship curriculum to conform to the legislation are discussed. Specific attention is focused on the law's requirement that illegal aliens applying for amnesty and…

The extent to which national performance on an achievement test battery changed over a 4-year period was studied, and the comparative performance of students in school districts taking the test series for the first time was compared with that of students in districts that had used the battery at least once in one or more grades. The seventh…

This book addresses some of the important considerations surrounding the use of tests and assessment procedures when applied to students who are culturally, linguistically, and/or socioeconomically different from mainstream North Americans. Chapter 1 introduces the problems of using standards based on a white Anglo-Saxon perspective to assess and…

The reliability and validity of the Teaching Behaviours Scale (TBS) were examined using a sample of 40 male and female student teachers. The TBS was designed as a self-administered rating scale to evaluate one's teaching effectiveness. The five-point rating scale contains 22 items covering six categories: reinforcement, feedback, presentation,…

Administering measures of students' ethical orientation at various points in the education of business students would be helpful in determining the affective impact of the curriculum. Procedures for eliminating item bias and maximizing the validity and reliability of such measures are discussed and illustrated through actual data collected in the…

The factor structure and reliability of an instrument for measuring attitudes of preservice teachers toward science were studied as part of a 5-year project at the University of Wyoming (Laramie) to improve the teaching of science at the elementary school level. The Attitudes towards Science and Scientists Scale (ATSSS) of J. R. Cummings (1969)…

The test-retest reliability of the American Guidance Service (AGS) Early Screening Profiles (ESP)--a battery measuring development in the cognition/language, motor, and self-help/social areas--was examined. The ESP is a nationally normed screening battery for children ages 2 years 0 months through 6 years 11 months. In addition, parent and teacher…

The reliability, sensitivity, and criterion-related validity of concept comparison (CC) ratings and computer-derived multidimensional scaling (MDS) maps were studied as ways of assessing reading comprehension. Fifteen experts (2 district coordinators and 13 reading specialists/special education teachers) were included in this study. Reliability…

This research study investigates the validity of the Teacher Locus of Control Scale (TLCS) in a different cultural environment. The scale, developed in the United States by Taylor et al., measures teachers' beliefs about their own potential to influence student performance and classroom events. Specifically, the study investigates the…

From 1946 to 1976, the field of higher education operated in a growth-based mode, encouraged by government decisions and financed by government funds. During the massive recession and exploding federal deficits of the early seventies, however, legislators began examining the real value of higher education, and asking whether higher education was…

Pronunciation is regarded as a valuable subskill in foreign language teaching and testing. Its quality is commonly assessed in a global way by having examinees read aloud. An atomistic test is a more systematic and explicit approach. Such a test would consist of about 40 items, use recorded performances, and draw on an inventory of pronunciation…