Contains a summary of the measurement strategies developed and used by the Technical Analysis Group on behalf of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Also describes some remaining measurement dilemmas in the context of the National Board's assessments and suggests some areas for further research. (SLD)

Presents a study that analyzes four common grading systems used to assess the performance of 159 students in a business statistics course. Indicates that the accuracy of grades increases with the number of grade categories employed. Contains three data tables and 17 references. (JDI)

The psychometric characteristics of the Cultural Life Style Inventory were studied with a sample of 402 Puerto Rican college students. Factor analysis revealed high factorial stability for Puerto Ricans. Similarities and differences with a previously studied Mexican American population are discussed. (SLD)

The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), which was designed to assess both children's and adolescents' emotional disorders, personality constructs, and behavior problems, is discussed. Discusses the BASC technical manual, and psychometric properties such as norms, reliability, and validity. Offers favorable commentary for the BASC. (KW)

This study examined test characteristics of the Pediatric Language Acquisition Screening Tool for Early Referral-Revised (PLASTER-R), a set of developmental questionnaires for children 3 to 60 months of age. The PLASTER-R was moderately to highly successful in identifying children within normal limits for language development. Test-retest…

Summarizes issues related to the provision of testing accommodations for examinees with disabling conditions, considering the history of such accommodations, the disabilities typically addressed, legal issues and precedents, and psychometric issues. Also considers social policy questions related to equity and fairness in testing. (SLD)

The usefulness of traditional concepts of validity and reliability, developed for large-scale assessments, for the classroom context is explored. Alternate frameworks that situate these constructs in teachers' work in classrooms are presented, and their use in an assessment course for preservice teachers is described. (SLD)

This study examined the normative and construct equivalence of the teacher IOWA Conners Rating Scale (IOWA) with 3,998 elementary school children in an urban school district. Risk odds ratios were calculated by gender and ethnicity. Significant racial differences suggested that, although there is construct equivalence across racial groups, there…

This paper reports evidence on the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument (C-FAI), an instrument developed to assess family functioning in Chinese populations. A convenience sample of 1,462 adolescents from junior secondary schools completed the C-FAI and measures of parent-adolescent conflict.…

This article reviews evidence-based criteria that can guide practitioners in the selection, use, and interpretation of assessment tools for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). As Mash and Hunsley (2005) discuss in this special section, evidence-based assessment tools not only demonstrate adequate psychometric qualities, but also have relevance to the…

The authors evaluated self-report instruments currently being used to assess children and adolescents with psychopathic personality traits with respect to their reliability, validity, and research utility. Comprehensive searches across multiple computerized bibliographic databases were conducted and supplemented with manual searches. A total of 30…

The crux in psychometrics is how to estimate the probability that a respondent answers an item correctly on one occasion out of many. Under the current testing paradigm this probability is estimated using all kinds of statistical techniques and mathematical modeling. Multiple evaluation is a new testing paradigm using the person's own personal…

Relationships between peer interactive play and social competence in a sample of preschool children (N = 85) considered at risk for academic difficulties were examined. Ratings of peer interactive play and social emotional development were collected from parents and teachers on the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale and Vineland Social-Emotional…

What is faith development? Can it be assessed? Which environments and experiences are most conducive to growth in faith? These are a few of the questions that the Faithful Change research project attempts to address. (Contains 1 table.)

The research reported in this article intends to contribute to an understanding of how out-of-school literacies can influence the present and future learning of adolescents. Evidence suggests that students, boys particularly, are becoming literate in many ways through out-of-school activities (e.g., video games, Internet browsing, chatrooms), but…