Holistic evaluation is a reliable, valid, and cost-effective alternative to the usual mechanical assessment of writing. Writing samples are scored on a five-point scale against an overall impression of development, organization, and coherentness. The method was applied to the Communication Activities Skills Project (CASP) for grades 3-12. Writing…

Three areas of concern related to test bias and validity should be considered during the revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. The first area concerns the sources and consequences of test bias. Five sources of bias have been identified: numerical bias, role bias, status bias, stereotypic bias, and familiarity bias. The…

Two- and three-category versions of Nedelsky's procedure for setting minimum passing scores, based on item content, were compared. Graduate students acting as judges classified the response options on their midterm into two categories: (1) those which should be rejected as incorrect by a minimally performing (B average) student; and (2) those…

A propositional network system for representing the logical and semantic information contained in a text is described. The reliability of scoring information recalled from reading, using this representational system, is found to vary with the scoring goal. Determination of the amount of information recalled is found to be extremely reliable. A…

Three separate instruments were used to measure and assess the interrelationships of organizational norms, communication climate, and job satisfaction. Of the 155 top administrators and managers at California State University, Long Beach, 101 subjects completed all three measurement instruments. Statistical analysis showed that a significant…

In 1973, kindergarten children in a rural village in Texas were tested with the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. For the next 2.5 years, children from successive grades in the same school were given the same test. During the entire period over 200 children had been tested, but of the original 53 pupils only 20 took the test all three times…

The evaluation model for mastery testing as proposed by Emrick (1971) represents an empirical approach to determining the most appropriate mastery criterion score that should be established in those testing situations which entail decision making relative to the continued progression or possible recycling of students in a given learning sequence.…

This study sought to refine the concept "procedures" in small group communication. Two categories with eight corresponding properties were delineated and incorporated into a Likert-type scale designed to assess a person's preference for procedural order in task-oriented groups. The instrument was checked for reliability and then…

The purpose of this study was to administer the revised "Inventory of Teacher Knowledge of Reading" by Artley and Hardin to a representative population of teachers, and to secure information concerning the factorial validity and reliability of the instrument. The subjects included 552 inservice elementary education teachers, elementary…

This report gives the basic definition and purpose of competency-based teacher education (CBTE) cut-off scores. It describes the basic characteristics of CBTE as a yes-no dichotomous decision regarding the presence of a specific ability or knowledge, which necesitates the establishment of a cut-off point to designate competency vs. incompetency on…

The self concepts of multiethnic Spanish speaking children were measured using a Spanish translation of the Self Appraisal Inventory, Primary Level, developed by the Instructional Objectives Exchange in Los Angeles, in cooperation with the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title III programs throughout the United States. The test was administered…

The Sherman-Kulhavy Laterality Assessment Inventory (LAI), an instrument for determining cerebral laterality, was administered to 1,000 undergraduates to determine the ability of the LAI to discriminate between right- and left-dominant groups. Each S was administered the LAI, a 45-item verbal report instrument which assesses both fine and gross…

The report summarizes research on the development and standardization of objectively scored language and adjustment scales for five cards of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) used in the Health Examination Survey of a subsample of 1,398 youths 12-to 17-years-old. Described is the development of cognitive and personality measures derived from…

As part of the instrumentation to assess the effectiveness of the Schools Without Failure (SWF) program in 10 elementary schools in the New Castle, Pa. School District, this 30-item School Attitude Scale was developed to measure children's attitudes toward school in grades 1-3. A faces response form was used. Reliability for this form averaged .89…

As part of the instrumentation to assess the effectiveness of the Schools Without Failure (SWF) program in 10 elementary schools in the New Castle, Pa. School District, the Opinionnaire on Attitudes Toward Education was used as a measure of teacher attitudes toward child-centered education, discipline, and the desirability of understanding pupils'…