How is the usefulness of research assessed as university research becomes more and more commodified? The question is addressed through an analysis of how the results of a particular research project were received in a large private company that had provided the main funding for a research project on gender and top management, a project based on…

As class sizes increase, methods of assessments shift from costly traditional approaches (e.g. expert-graded writing assignments) to more economic and logistically feasible methods (e.g. multiple-choice testing, computer-automated scoring, or peer assessment). While each method of assessment has its merits, it is peer assessment in particular,…

Research Findings: We examined the reliability and validity of the language, literacy, and mathematics domains of "Work Sampling for Head Start" (WSHS), an observational assessment designed for 3- and 4-year-olds. Participants included 112 children who were enrolled over a two-year period in Head Start and a number of other programs…

Subjective well-being is an increasingly common indicator of adequacy of psychiatric services. An easy-to-administer assessment tool of subjective well-being that is conceptually sound, valid, and reliable is needed for use in persons with schizophrenia. The purpose of this paper was to validate the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale…

A discussion of the evaluation of writing, particularly in English as a Second Language, argues for a communicative approach reflecting the current approach to language teaching and learning. The movement toward more communication-oriented and more valid language testing is examined briefly, and direct assessment is chosen as the preferred format…

This study identifies distinguishing differences in lecture delivery styles of lecturers rated by students in a large multi-instructor course: the Introduction to Clinical Medicine Course (ICM). The 20 lowest- and highest-rated lecturers of the 1982 and 1983 ICM courses served as the target group. Non-student raters observing the 1984 lectures…

A study was conducted to refine the writing scale incorporated into the Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised. The test uses a single scale for judging writing samples from students in grades 2 through 12. It was questioned whether a single, relatively brief rating scale could have the sensitivity required to discriminate among the range of…

This paper investigates the reliability of the Florida Performance Measurement Systems' Summative Observation instrument. Developed for the Florida Beginning Teacher Evaluation Program, it provides behavioral ratings for teachers in a classroom setting. Data came from ratings of videotapes of nine teachers conducting actual lessons by nine teams…

This research report describes changes made to the Inventory of Work-Relevant Values when it was revised for online use as a part of the Internet version of DISCOVER. Users will see the following differences between the online and CD-ROM versions of the inventory: 22 items rather than 61, simplified presentation, and the contribution of all items…

Children ages 3-6 years were interviewed following a scheduled pediatric clinic visit to assess their ability to remember and report incidents of body touch. Follow-up interviews were conducted after one and six months. Results suggest that children actively and accurately process their experiences and that the quality and quantity of their…

Reflects upon Steward and Steward essay on improving understanding of children as witnesses. Focuses in particular on the effect on legal proceedings of a poorly conducted or highly suggestive interview. Suggests that the major problem today is whether a child's account has been contaminated by delays or through interactions with others, and…

Examines the rationale and design of evaluations of interview protocols to be used in sexual abuse cases. Comments on the findings of Steward et al. study, in the contexts of cost-benefit analysis and ecological validity. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques, such as enhanced interviews, anatomical dolls,…

Despite the existence of little empirical evidence for their effectiveness, many techniques have been suggested for writing multiple-choice items. The option "none of the above" (NA) has been widely used although a recent review of empirical studies of NA suggests that, while generally decreasing the difficulty index, NA also decreases…

Content analysis was used to examine the consistency of responses in self-report data obtained by a semi-structured conversational interview. It was hypothesized that a majority of the seemingly inconsistent responses would prove to be consistent when seen from the respondents' points of view. The sample consisted of 215 female homicide offenders…

The controversy regarding reverse or negatively-worded survey stems has been around for several decades. The practice has been used to guard against acquiescent or response set behaviors. A 20-item, 5-point Likert item survey was designed and the stems and response sets were varied in a 2 by 3 design. One independent variable was type of item…