This study examined differences between Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) scores for 40 elementary students with learning disabilities. WISC-III Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance scores were lower than comparable WISC-R scores by one-third to one-half a…

Discusses how infants and toddlers are affected by violence, and problems they may experience as a result of living in a violent environment. Also discusses the role of child caregivers in providing a safe haven, a stable environment, and consistency, and being effective primary caregivers. (DR)

Reports on the development of a test of phonemic awareness suitable for administration to young children. Compares kindergarteners' performance on a measure controlling for global similarity and another measure not controlled. Finds support for the importance of controlling for global similarity when attempting to measure phoneme invariance. (RS)

A professional support personnel evaluation model is presented that is grounded in sound evaluation theory and conceptualized in research as well as practice. Validity, reliability, and utility are acknowledged in the seven steps of an evaluation model that balances institutional and individual needs. (SLD)

This study analyzed the internal consistency of four inventories used by Utah probation officers to determine adequate and efficacious supervision levels and placement for juvenile sex offenders. Three factors accounted for 41.2 percent of variance (custodian's and juvenile's attitude toward intervention, offense characteristics, and historical…

Four staff members completed 3 questionnaires evaluating quantitative and qualitative aspects of compulsive and autistic behaviors of 17 young autistic adults in a farmstead residential facility. Results affirmed the utility and applicability of obsessive-compulsive assessment devices in evaluating behavior of autistic adults. (Author/DB)

Two longitudinal studies involving 29 raters concerning the construct validity, temporal stability, and interrater reliability of the latent common factors underlying subjective assessments by human raters of personality traits in the stumptail macaque and the zebra finch illustrate the use of generalizability analysis to test prespecified…

This article reviews the history of divergent thinking tests and provides a projection of current research suggesting a bright outlook for creativity tests. A model relating problem finding and problem solving is described, as are approaches to increasing test reliability. (DB)

Elaborates on and responds to challenges of direct writing assessment. Speculates on future directions in writing assessment. Suggests that, if writing instructors accept that writing is a multidimensional, situational construct that fluctuates across a wide variety of contexts, then they must also respect the complexity of teaching and testing…

Concerns about norm-referenced achievement tests involve (1) the purposes of the tests (comparability of results); (2) the content of the tests; (3) psychometric screening of test items; (4) the form of tests items; (5) the interpretation of summary scores; and (6) the construct validity of the tests. Offers guidelines for use of norm-referenced…

An equation derived by W. A. Nicewander and J. M. Price relating statistical power to reliability of dependent variable measures when true score regression is homogeneous across treatment conditions is enhanced through overcoming the problem of directly estimating the squared linear correlation between true scores for X and Y. (SLD)

Reports development of a battery of scales measuring four dimensions of adolescent leisure experience: boredom, awareness, anxiety, and challenge. Analysis confirmed the internal consistency reliability of a shortened version. Test-retest reliability was established over 12 months. Correlations with theoretically related measures suggested initial…

A technique is presented to transform incomplete categorical data into complete data by imputing appropriate scores into missing cells. A solution of the optimization problem is suggested, and relevant psychometric theory is discussed. The average correlation should be at least 0.50 before the method becomes practical. (SLD)

Discusses the development of the Family Assessment Form for use in in-home family support services at the Children's Bureau of Los Angeles, California. Focuses on details of the form, its reliability and validity, and refinements in its use. (BB)

The degree of agreement between two raters rating several objects for a single characteristic can be expressed through an association coefficient, such as the Pearson product-moment correlation. How to select an appropriate association coefficient, and the desirable properties and uses of a class of such coefficients--the Euclidean…