Prompted by the increased use of behavior rating instruments in educational environments and evidence of confusion over the interpretation of labels designating behavior clusters, the present two-phase study analyzed 410 specific items contained in seven behavior rating instruments and investigated whether these items could be intuitively sorted…

In an effort to improve the reliability of the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), the instrument was revised and the revision's reliability and validity were examined examined with black and white college freshmen. The NCQ measures eight non-traditional or non-cognitive variables that relate to minority student retention. The revised NCQ is…

This report describes two studies, one comparing Florida students' performance to national norms on the General Educational Development (GED) tests, the other comparing performance on the GED tests and the Florida State Student Assessment Test, Part II (SSAT-II). In the first study, a representative sample of 1,200 high school seniors completed…

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative magnitude of the variance components and generalizability coefficients derived from the Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments (TPAI) data using two different methods of data collection: (1) occasions when observers were in the classroom for simultaneous observation and (2) occasions when…

This paper addresses the issue of whether four of the learning styles instruments currently available are of sufficient psychometric quality to warrant their continued use either for research or educational purposes. Four instruments, which purport to measure learning styles, were selected for review. Criteria for selection were based in part on…

Six university English departments collaborated in this examination of the differences between multiple-choice and essay tests in evaluating writing skills. The study also investigated ways the two tools can complement one another, ways to improve cost effectiveness of essay testing, and ways to integrate assessment and the educational process.…

Two contrasting kindergarten reading programs (book-focused and letter-focused) were chosen for a study that evaluated the ability of the Early Reading Test to probe children's knowledge of stories as well as letters, sounds, and words. The test also evaluated the kinds of strategies children use to attempt reading tasks and, through interview…

UNIACT, a major component of the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment Program, is one of the first interest inventories to employ a new technique for ensuring sex fairness in the reporting of scores. UNIACT was constructed with the goal that distributions of career options suggested to males and females would be similar. It is intended to…

This paper reviews the literatuare on projective techniques of personality assessment and their use by school psychologists. Following a brief survey of the development of projective techniques, several of the most widely used techniques are briefly discussed, i.e., the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Childrens Apperception Test (CAT), the…

This manual makes accessible several widely used instruments for measuring perceptions of psychosocial characteristics of classroom environment among school students and teachers. Background information, scoring procedures, validation data, and preferred and short forms of the Learning Environment Inventory, My Class Inventory, Classroom…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of out-of-level testing (OLT) when it is applied to the assessment of special education students with mild learning handicaps. This evaluation of OLT involved testing hypotheses related to: (1) the adequacy of vertical scaling, (2) the reliability and (3) the validity of OLT scores. Fifty-eight…

A project was conducted to establish the validity of a procedure and set of instruments to facilitate a more systematic approach for the continued staff development of inservice secondary and postsecondary vocational instructors in three states (Kentucky, Virginia, and Wisconsin) with different delivery systems. The population consisted of a…

Covariance structure modelling is applied to the problem of estimating reliability and measurement error in survey data. To provide a basis for grouping certain question or variable types (data from questions), a simple typology based on the formal characteristics of the questions is outlined. From this classification, models for the different…

An approach was developed based on item-response models defined at the level of salient subject groups rather than at the level of individuals, designed for use with multiple-matrix sampling designs. In each of three National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics subtopics, Reiser's group-effects latent trait model was fitted to…

A study was conducted to test four hypotheses concerning modification of student self-concept in communication courses: (1) different kinds of training affect student self-concept in different ways, (2) scale bias affects measurement of student self-concept, (3) male and female self-concepts change differently, and (4) course grade affects student…