Following an introductory definition of "scientific ability and creativity", product-oriented, personality and social psychological approaches to studying scientific ability are examined with reference to competence and performance. Studies in the psychometric versus cognitive psychological paradigms are dealt with in more detail. These two…

The authors revised and validated the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale for use with upper elementary students. Researchers use the NEP Scale extensively with adults, but it was not designed for children. Interviews with 5th grade students helped the authors revise the NEP Scale for use with children. The authors spent 2 years validating the…

This article describes a new construct for coding the social communicative performance of school-aged children as they interact with peers and teachers in the classroom. The Social Communication Coding System (SCCS) allows clinicians a way of describing how children actually spend their time during the school day by observing ongoing behaviors…

The assessment of children's social skills is an important task for school psychologists in both applied and research settings. The present study examines the psychometric properties of parent ratings of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), in kindergarten through third grades, testing for measurement differences between boys and girls, between…

This study examined the psychosocial correlates and psychometric properties of the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS) (Webster, 2003a). Seventy-three men and 98 women ranging in age from 17-92 years (Mean age = 42.77) completed an expanded, 40-item version of the SAWS, the Loyola Generativity Scale, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale.…

Elementary and middle school children were given a large battery of tests evaluating reading subskills and reading-related cognitive abilities. These measures were used to define latent representing skills and abilities believed to be important components of reading comprehension. Hypothesized relationships among these constructs were specified…

This article describes the development of a measure of adult sleep quality: the Adult Sleep-Wake Scale (ADSWS). The ADSWS is a self-report pencil-and-paper measure of sleep quality consisting of five behavioral dimensions (Going to Bed, Falling Asleep, Maintaining Sleep, Reinitiating Sleep, and Returning to Wakefulness). Data were collected from…

Recent advances in psychometrics and computer technology encourage the development of model-based methods of individualized testing on a microcomputer, where each examinee receives short tests and where the number of pretest items that can be administered is severely restricted. On-line (i.e., data is collected on operational equipment) methods…

Some applications of Bayesian decision theory to intelligent tutoring systems are considered. How the problem of adapting the appropriate amount of instruction to the changing nature of a student's capabilities during the learning process can be situated in the general framework of Bayesian decision theory is discussed in the context of the…

This paper discusses the development of instruments to measure individual differences in behavior during infancy. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ), which was designed to measure the temperament dimensions identified by the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS), constituted the methodological starting point in the search for a dimensional…

This paper offers answers to nine important questions concerning standard-setting issues and methods: (1) Should normative or content-referenced standards be used? (2) Different standard-setting methods yield different results. What is your reaction to this finding? That of your clients? Does this finding present a problem for the application of…

The Educational Attitudes Scale (EAS), which covers four important aspects of a teacher's school life (children, discipline, methods, and administration), was completed by 80 experienced secondary school teachers. The EAS includes 20 Likert-type items with five response categories (I agree very much, I agree on the whole, Uncertain, I disagree on…

A longitudinal study of achievement data from public schools in Durham County, North Carolina, was undertaken to examine individual growth curves as well as to chart the progress of educational institutions and the effects of aggregation on the study of growth. A two-level hierarchical linear model was used in the study to specify individual…

As part of the Kentucky Career Ladder Project, a goal setting process and instrumentation were developed, implemented, and evaluated. Focus was on evaluating 337 Step-Three public school teachers in Kentucky in the two domains of professional growth/development (PGD) and professional leadership/initiative (PLI), using this standardized…

This study applied one-parameter latent trait measurement theory to investigate the measurement characteristics of both forms of a multiple-choice measure of field-independence--the Finding Embedded Figures Test (FEFT). The FEFT has a multiple-choice format that may facilitate administration and scoring in comparison with use of supply-format…