The Threat Index (TI), theoretically based on George Kelly's personal construct theory, was developed as a measure of death orientation. Outlines the emerging reliability and validity picture. The aim is to give direction to future TI research by summarizing and critically evaluating the currently available data. (Author)

Examines the controversy surrounding the administration of the Metropolitan Achievement Test on reading and the subsequent recall of the results data by the chancellor of the New York City schools. (IRT)

A computer program providing comprehensive test and item analysis is presented. Completing its performance on one run, the program, written in Fortran and emphasizing ease of use, integrates various statistical techniques for analyzing individual items and the overall test, in addition to generating a variety of standard scores. (Author/JKS)

Offers suggestions for proper procedures for authors to use--and some pitfalls to avoid--when writing studies using factor analysis methods. Discusses distinctions among different methods of analysis, the adequacy of factor structure, and other notes of caution. Encourages authors to ensure that their research is statistically sound. (RJM)

Demonstrates how data smoothing procedures--procedures commonly used in the development of continuous test norms--can provide better estimates of the reliability, uniqueness, and general factor characteristics for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, third edition, subtests. Suggests that such procedures are applicable to other test…

Classical procedures for calculating the two indices of decision consistency (P and Kappa) for criterion-referenced tests require two testings on each child. Huynh, Peng, and Subkoviak have presented one-testing procedures for these indices. These indices can be estimated without any test administration using Ebel's estimates of the mean, standard…

Studied whether pubertal timing by self-report (SR), parent report (PR), or physical examination predicted the same aspects of adjustment and behavior problems. Findings for 52 girls, 56 boys, and their parents show that pubertal timing by SR and PR did not always provide the same level of prediction as did physical examination. (SLD)

Assessed the reliability and criterion validity of the Physical Activity Monitor, a telephone-interview adaptation of the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (MLTPAQ), for assessing trends in the Canadian population. Interviews with Canadian adults and comparisons of the Monitor against the Campbell's Survey of Well-Being…

The Children's Self-Report Social Skills Scale (CS4), a 21-item instrument, was developed to measure children's perspectives on their own social skills. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability of CS4 scores were .74 and .96, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed 3 reliable components: Social Rules, Likeability,…

To identify a procedure for establishing cut scores for National Occupational Competency Testing Institute examinations in Pennsylvania, an expert panel assessed written and performance test items for minimally competent workers. Recommendations about the number, type, and training of judges used were made. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

Evaluates the stability of the Relational Dimensions Instrument (RDI) as a measure of people's general beliefs about the characteristics of the ideal marriage. Shows little stability for these judgments in college students who took the test twice, one year apart. Casts doubt on whether college students' implicit theories of marriage are tapped by…

Presents an 11-item alternative to the longer 25-item measure of teacher affinity seeking. Indicates that the measure is both reliable and valid for use with appropriate research questions. Presents broad guidelines for use. (SR)

Attempted to clarify whether fear is related to distorted cognitive processing of fear-related information. Administered card and single-trial formats of Stroop task to spider-fearing and control children. Found bias for spider words in both, regardless of format; further, processing biases assessed by the formats did not correlate, suggesting…

Describes a FORTRAN software program that calculates the probability of an observed difference between agreement measures obtained from two independent sets of raters. An example illustrates the use of the DIFFER program in evaluating undergraduate essays. (Author/SLD)

The reliability of a gain is determined by the reliabilities of the components, the correlation between them, and their standard deviations. Reliability is not inherently low, but the components of gains in many investigations make low reliability likely and require caution in the use of gain scores. (SLD)