This report provides preliminary technical information on a method for analyzing the factors involved in the closing of elementary schools. Included is a presentation of data and a brief discussion bearing on descriptive statistics, reliability, and validity. An intercorrelation matrix is also examined. The method employs 9 factors that have a…

This study attempts to develop a test of moral reasoning on ethical decision making in the practice of occupational therapy. To develop test items, 22 therapists were interviewed. Therapists were asked to describe common moral dilemmas. The five most common types of dilemmas described were: (1) deciding the most appropriate type of intervention;…

Developed by the staff of the Albuquerque Integration Model (Project AIM Outreach), the checklist is intended to help educators make appropriate placements for mild to moderately handicapped preschoolers. The instrument measures the variability in which a child displays a particular skill or behavior and assesses skills that professionals…

This study examined (1) the psychometric qualities of a modified version of the Parent Behavior Form (PBF) designed to obtain ratings of parental behavior toward a child from four different family members, and (2) the effects of aggregating across raters on the reliability and generalizability of ratings of parental behavior. Subjects were 744…

In today's complex computer-based teaching (CBT)/computer-assisted instruction market, flashy presentations frequently prove the most important purchasing element, while instructional design and content are secondary to form. Courseware purchasers must base decisions upon either a vendor's presentation or some published evaluator rating.…

Three studies were conducted to examine variables that facilitate or hamper interaction between disabled and able-bodied college students. In study 1, 100 able-bodied Ss completed two adjective checklists identifying socially desirable and undesirable characteristics; a second group of 94 abled-bodied Ss were tested using another set of traits.…

This paper is the transcript of a talk given to those who use test information but who have little technical background in test theory. The concepts of modern test theory are compared with traditional test theory, as well as a probable future test theory. The explanations given are couched within an extended metaphor that allows a full description…

This paper describes how a naturalistic inquirer can demonstrate rigor, or trustworthiness, and how an auditor might assess it. Looking at both inquiry products and processes, Part 1 of this paper describes how an audit may assess whether an inquiry's findings and conclusions are grounded in the raw data, and whether appropriate conventions were…

Both the attenuation paradox of traditional test theory and the assumption of local independence in person-item response theory have caused problems in interpretation. This paper demonstrates that the two are related concepts, and, through this demonstration, both are clarified. It is demonstrated that the breakdown of local independence leads to…

An accepted criterion for gauging the fairness of examinees' scores, derived from judge-awarded ratings, has been the size of the correlation between the judges and the inter-rater reliability. Various means of achieving inter-rater reliability were reviewed, and a model to measure inter-rater reliability is forwarded. Both theoretical and…

The primary purpose of this study was to provide evidence for or against the construct validity of the Career Skills Assessment Program (CSAP) instrument. A secondary purpose was to present a systematic procedure for carrying out internal construct validity studies in any testing instrument. Construct validation using confirmatory factor analysis…

This paper discusses four criteria for selecting covariates when utilizing the analysis of covariance in quasiexperimental research: completeness, causation, independence, and fallibility. Completeness is the extent to which the known or suspected sources of bias are accounted for by covariates used in an experiment. Causation is the requirement…

Noting that public opinion polls are here to stay, this report focuses on the difficulties of good poll reporting in newspapers that use (1) syndicated polls; (2) private polls from political candidates, or (3) their own polls, and argues that newspapers must learn how to report them well. The first section of the report traces the history of…

Research indicating that different cut-off points result from the use of different standard-setting techniques leaves decision makers with a disturbing dilemma: Which standard-setting method is best? This investigation of the reliability and validity of 10 different standard-setting approaches was designed to provide information that might help…