The 10-year review of scales assessing functional impairment by Winters in this issue provides an informative, well-organized, and exhaustive review of the literature. The construct of functional impairment is differentiated from the severity of disorder. Scales in each category are reviewed in a uniform manner covering the following headings:…

This study investigates the psychosocial environments of secondary schools from science teachers' perspectives, as well as associated variables. Using a sample of 900 secondary science teachers from 52 schools in Taiwan, the results attest to the validity and reliability of the instrument, the Science Teacher School Environment Questionnaire, and…

Research into the technical adequacy of statewide alternate assessments is limited. In this study, the authors analyzed 2 years of data from one state's alternate assessment in written language in an attempt to validate current test score interpretations. More than 1,000 students were included in each year. Findings support the test's technical…

This study assessed the psychometric properties of two scales that can be used in predicting team performance: specifically how team members assess the market orientation of their work unit as well the leadership skills present in the team. The first scale is a three-dimensional assessment of the unit's market orientation (innovative, process, or…

This article reports on the development of a short questionnaire to measure work engagement--a positive work-related state of fulfillment that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Data were collected in 10 different countries (N = 14,521), and results indicated that the original 17-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) can be…

The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure of incidental behaviors that put college students at increased risk of legal consequences while using alcohol, the Legal Risk Behaviors while using Alcohol (LRBA) scale. Two hundred and twenty one college students who used alcohol were recruited to complete an online study about their use of…

This study evaluated the structural reliability, construct-related validity, and cultural validity generalization of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in a sample of more than 560 male and female Swedish forensic psychiatric treatment patients, forensic evaluation patients, and criminal offenders. Structural reliability…

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factorial invariance of the Africultural Coping Systems Inventory's (ACSI) measurement model and underlying factor structure across three independent and ethnically distinct samples of African descent populations. Results indicated that factor pattern coefficients of the ACSI's underlying…

The development and validation of the Teacher Beliefs Survey (TBS) is described. The TBS, an instrument for assessing the beliefs of teachers related to constructivist and traditional approaches to teaching and learning, contains 21 items in three hypothetical constructs. Elementary teachers, preservice (n = 61) and in-service (n = 137),…

This study examined the factorial validity of scores on the newly developed Students' Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness Rating Scale (SETERS) through a series of confirmatory and multilevel structures. Conventional confirmatory factor analyses using the total covariance and pooled within-covariance matrices from two midwestern universities…

Recent studies indicate that students in the United States are not achieving sufficient mathematics skills to meet the demands required of them within and outside of school. Among the keys to preventing mathematics difficulties are to identify and intervene with those students who may be most at risk for later failure, monitoring their progress as…

In 2002, nearly 100,000 high school students took one of the Advanced Placement Program? (AP?)language examinations in French, German, or Spanish. One way in which the validity of these exams is ensured is through periodic college comparability studies. The purpose of such studies is to equate the AP scores with performance standards in the third…

The current study examines the understanding of the DSM-IV-MR-J items to assess pathological gambling among adolescents aged 12 to 15, and explores its accuracy. The DSM-IV-MR-J was first administered in the classroom. Participants were assigned to either an experimental or a control group. Participants in the first group were asked to explain the…

In the twenty-first century, for a growing number of people around the world, the Internet is used not only for gathering information but also for self-help. The uses of the Internet are steadily growing, and it has become an inseparable part of everyday life for ordinary people (Barak, 1999; Barak & English, 2002; Gore & Leuwerke, 2000;…

The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Greek version of the Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale in a sample of 170 high school students. Drawing on current social cognitive career theory, the validity of the TSOSS is supported by the expected gender differences on the TSOSS factors, and their high correlations…