A preschool screening battery was presented to a sample of 198 children with and without mild learning problems. Cross-sample test validation was demonstrated when 81% of both groups were correctly classified. Interrater reliability of 80% or greater on all but one of the tasks was demonstrated. (Contains references.) (Author/PB)

Evaluated new self-report measure assessing children's strategies for preserving emotional security in context of interparental conflict. Factor analyses of the Security in the Interparental Subsystem (SIS) Scale supported a 7-factor solution. The SIS demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Support for test…

Fifteen listeners using the Listener Comfort Scale rated videos of 10 adults before and after stuttering treatment and videos of 10 controls. Results were compared with those of 15 listeners who used the Speech Naturalness Scale. Reliability of the Speech Naturalness Scale was superior; however, the Listener Comfort Scale captured different…

To assess diagnostic accuracy and test-retest reliability, two forms of a nonword repetition task were administered to 22 preschool children with specific language impairment and 22 controls. Nonword repetition scores provided excellent sensitivity and specificity for discrimination. Scores on nonword repetition and digit span tasks improved from…

In the current study of 361 sexually active undergraduates cited for their first time for university substance abuse violations, confirmatory factor analysis was employed to validate the Risky Sex Scale. A three factor solution appears to fit the data significantly, and three subscales demonstrate good to excellent reliability and vary…

Describes development of Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD), a 150-item instrument with a structured interview format, which produces a comprehensive evaluation of the life problem areas pertinent to the needs of adolescent drug abuse clients. A series of validity and reliability tests are described, along with characteristics of the…

Results are reported from a study that investigated the correspondence between two methods used to assess differential item functioning (test item bias). The study also explored the influence of sample size on the two procedures. Although agreement between the two procedures was generally good, the Rasch procedure was more reliable. (IAH)

Describes process used in constructing Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle Inventory (SDTLI), instrument designed to measure certain aspects of Chickering's theory of psychosocial development of traditional-age college students. Summarizes reliability and validity studies. Discusses use of SDTLI. (NB)

The taxonomy developed by J. Klecan-Aker et al. to investigate the use of various speech acts in response to questions during a structured picture-description task was evaluated. Results indicated that the taxonomy was sufficient to handle the responses of a group of 12 language-impaired children, aged 7-11. (JDD)

A study of the usefulness of a comprehensive placement examination for individualizing the experiential course sequence for pharmacy students and providing needed remediation in selected subject areas found that the test could not be supported for preclinical screening but might be useful for identifying students needing remediation. (MSE)

Applied linguistics and psychometrics have influenced language testing, providing additional tools for investigating factors affecting language test performance and assuring measurement reliability. An examination is presented of language testing, including the theoretical issues involved, the methodological advances, language test development,…

A study examined the responses of 89 physical child abusers and 108 comparison subjects to the Child Abuse Potential Inventory to determine whether the inventory's response inconsistency scale could be used for screening for physical child abuse. The scale was rejected as a reliable or valid measure. (Author/MSE)

The Achievement Anxiety Test's dimensionality was assessed using data from 378 university students. Analyses suggest the viability of a unidimensional construct, whose ability to provide extreme subject groups showing differences on other characteristics of academic achievement was assessed. Such a scale has potential for separating…

Test-retest reliability of the Q-Sort Inventory of Parenting Behaviors was obtained with a sample of 30 mothers of 3-year-olds. The within-subject correlation, with 2 weeks between test administrations, for sorting the test statements was 0.72. Reliable differences among the respondents were responsible for 35% of the variance. (SLD)

General/special education secondary teachers (N=183) and nonhandicapped and handicapped students (N=437) were surveyed on perceptions of the importance of social skills in relating to others, relating to adults, and relating to oneself. Discussed are the survey instrument's reliability, importance ratings for skills, and levels of agreement…