This paper describes an experiment in which the Developmental Sentence Scoring procedure, which has been used successfully for scoring sentence complexity in child language, was examined for its usefulness when applied to adult learners of English as a Second Language. The technique is based upon a developmental scale of syntax acquisition within…

This study was concerned with the relative usefulness of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) for black men and white men at the University of Colorado. The study provided evidence that the SVIB can be relevant for black students without applying different norms. (Author)

Head Start children tested at 4 years of age on the Preschool Preposition Test (PPT) and the Classroom Behavior Description checklist (CBD) were assessed for academic achievement and scholastic aptitude at the third- and eighth-grade levels. The PPT is a receptive language test which examines the comprehension of verbal directions by using spatial…

To validate a proposed statistical index of instructional effectiveness, researchers identified 33 school characteristics related to instructional effectiveness and tested the relationship between these characteristics and the proposed index. The index includes two subject area indices, mathematics and reading, and is based on statistical…

Student self-expectations are believed to exert a powerful influence on performance. Student perceptions and social comparisons during transfer students' (N=1362) first semester in a large state university were examined to determine variables that might be related to the formation of student performance expectations. Subjects completed…

One problem in the assessment of personality characteristics is the lack of predictive power of scales across time and situations with respect to overt behavior. Items from two scales of the Edwards Personality Inventory (Articulate and Center of Attention) considered suitable for behavioral assessment, were found to have a relatively high rate of…

A study examined the relationships between retelling--an indicator of reading comprehension obtained through a student's oral recall of a story--and three other indicators of reading comprehension representing various viewpoints in comprehension measurement: miscues, a post oral-reading cloze test, and a passage dependent multiple choice test.…

A questionnaire containing all 78 items from the three forms of Robert F. Bales' Interpersonal Rating Forms (IRF) was administered to 266 college students to test the reliability and validity of the IRF. The questions asked for self-perceptions about one's roles and behaviors in task groups. The results indicated that the scales are neither…

This issue of Measurement in Education is presented in the form of a dialogue between Dr. Robert L. Ebel, Distinguished Professor of Educational Measurement at Michigan State University, and Dr. Samual A. Livingston, Program Research Scientist at the Educational Testing Service. Alternative views on some aspects of the use of tests in assessing…

Although high school teacher evaluations of student non-cognitive attributes, such as leadership ability, are frequently considered in selecting applicants for competitive colleges, little empirical research exists on the reliability, validity, and bias of teacher ratings. The United States Military Academy at West Point requires that a set of…

This study was conducted to establish the existence of grade inflation and show that the ability of college students has remained constant. The second purpose was to examine the effect of grade inflation on the validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Two types of analyses were performed to gather data. A longitudinal analysis of selected…

This module is one in a series of seven focused on skills vocational teachers need to develop and manage programs that are performance-based and fully individualized. Designed to allow for individualization of a teacher education program, these modules supplement those prepared by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education for…

The study involving approximately 300 deaf students entering the National Technical Institute for the Deaf was designed to determine the extent to which four cognitive measures could be reduced in overall length without serious threat of information loss. The measures investigated were the California Reading Comprehension Test, the Mathematical…

The Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ) is a multidimensional instrument designed to measure seven facets of self-concept hypothesized in Shavelson's hierarchical model. The SDQ, along with measures of attributions and academic achievement, was administered to primary school students from two quite diverse populations. Separate factor analyses of…

Although actual or projected satisfaction with parenting is important in determining whether a couple will become parents and how large their family will be, only minimal research has assessed parental satisfaction. The Cleminshaw-Guidubaldi Parent Satisfaction Scale, a 50-item Likert-type instrument designed to measure components of satisfaction…