Four major topics were discussed at the conference: application of information theory to testing; recent advances in psychometric methods; evaluating group interaction; and new developments in the education of abler students. Papers delivered were: Multiple Assignment of Persons to Jobs, by Paul S. Dwyer; New Light on Test Strategy from Decision…

A LEARNING MODEL TO IDENTIFY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DIFFICULTY OF A PROBLEM ITEM WAS SUPPORTED EMPIRICALLY, AND INDICATED THAT THE NUMBER OF STEPS REQUIRED TO SOLVE A PROBLEM WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT VARIABLE IN PREDICTING BOTH ERROR PROBABILITY AND RESPONSE LATENCY. THE MODEL, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH DIFFERENTIAL PREDICTIONS OF DIFFICULTY IN…

The study developed a pilot interview schedule and analyzed the decision-making process of 326 central Nebraska 1973 high school graduates relative to their educational/occupational choices during the following year. Data were gathered through personal interviews with the graduates and a telephone survey of their parents and were analyzed to…

This study was aimed at providing statistical and experiential descriptive data of value to those concerned with the type of elementary school organizational structure and facility that best serves individualized learning. Test subjects consisted of 70 boys and 62 girls enrolled in or graduated from a nongraded open plan elementary school program…

The quantitative relationship between factors previously identified as affecting the extent and intensity of training within organizations was explored through a survey of companies in Australia's entertainment and process manufacturing sectors. A self-completion questionnaire was mailed first to a sample of 446 companies across Australia (112 of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of a Factors Influencing Pursuit of Higher Education (FIPHE) Questionnaire which addresses factors influencing a person's decision to pursue higher education. Researchers used a literature-based, rational factors approach to develop the questionnaire; the three-part study included a…

This study describes the use of event history modeling as a tool for understanding student departure from college. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics High School and Beyond (HS&B)/Sophomore Cohort longitudinal study a detailed history of individual students' college careers was constructed using a regression-like…

This document contains four symposium papers on measurement and research tools. "Income Effects of Human Resource Development for Higher Educated Professionals" (Martin Mulder, Bob Witziers) reports on a study of 1,876 higher-educated professionals that found no correlation between participation in human resource development activities and…

The structure of attitudes toward services rendered by state departments was studied in six southeastern states with a 70-item scale. Development procedures are described. The scale was administered to randomly chosen samples of superintendents (N = 671), central office personnel (N = 404), principals (N = 627), teachers (N = 3,684), and other…

Surveys 101 wind instrumentalists to reveal major differences in the pattern of influences leading to the re-creative skill of performing a repertoire of rehearsed music for a formal examination compared to the creative ability of improvising. Uses a path analysis to determine links between the data and theoretical model. (MJP)

In this article, we examine the construct and criteria validity of student and teacher ratings as indicators of instructional features. As parsimonious measures, student and teacher reports are frequently used to assess aspects of the learning environment. From a methodological perspective, however, both approaches have been questioned. Whereas…

This study aimed at adapting the Questionnaire Quality of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-89 version 1.0: Vickrey et al., 1993), Quality of Life in Epilepsy QoLIE-89 RAND (Santa Monica, CA)] so that it may be used to measure quality of life (QoL) of older adults, healthy or suffering from various chronic illnesses. The participants were 202 older adults…

The Gang Membership Inventory (GMI) was developed for use with urban high-risk youth and administered as part of a larger survey. The GMI consists of 15 true/false items asking about the respondent's involvement in gang activities in the year just past. Activities range from peripheral involvement to more serious involvement in gangs (e.g., being…

The 1993 Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) Reading Tests measured reading comprehension using both narrative and expository reading passages. Noticeable differences in mean scaled scores occurred depending on whether the 1993 results were equated back to the 1992 narrative test or the 1993 expository test (Hsu and Ackerman, 1994). In an…

Research was performed in lower grade technical schools in the Netherlands to study complex psychomotor tasks requiring integration of several task-dependent skills. In two studies, students were observed performing metal work. They were assigned to instructional conditions of high, intermediate or low structure. Students in the high-structure…