The general purposes of this study were to investigate the factorial validity of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS), Reading Comprehension subtest, and to study the item difficulties in order to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses of sixth and seventh grade Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I students. A sample of…

This study demonstrated the effectiveness of a reliable, inexpensive method for observing fathers interacting with their preschool children in the home. Fathers in 180 white families were interviewed about their child rearing attitudes and practices, and observed while playing games with their four-year old children. When a factor analysis of the…

Vocational interests among eighth and ninth grade students were examined and factor structures by grade, sex, and race were compared. The Ohio Vocational Interest Survey (OVIS) was the only inventory given. Results indicate that: (1) eighth and ninth grade students have similar interest patterns, (2) black and white eighth and ninth grade students…

Two college counseling samples, 150 males and 150 females, were administered two new interest inventories based on a similar factor structure. Considerable convergent and divergent validity for both was apparent in the correlations between the eight Vocational Interest Inventory scales and the 153 Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory General Theme,…

The purpose of this research was to conduct a preliminary analysis of a new instrument, the Classroom Environment Index (CEI), designed to measure the psychological environment (press) of the classroom. The structure was essentially the same as other Syracuse indexes, containing 30 scales of 10 items each. Three forms of the instrument were…

This collection of papers, concerned with the nature and theory of intelligence, forms part of a project to integrate test and factor theory with the empirical, functional relationships involving standard intelligence tests. The project will render more objective the use of factor analysis in personnel research. A definition of intelligence…

The Class Activities Questionnaire (CAQ) was used to compare a Canadian high school participating in a research project employing an information retrieval system with another not involved in the project. This paper evaluates the validity of the CAQ as a measurement instrument for this study. The CAQ was administered to 1831 students, 806 Science…

The present study was designed to (1) investigate the changes in the structure and organization of mental abilities during childhood and adolescence of 514 students as sampled by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (5 to 15 years) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (16 to 18 Years) and (2) interpret, and possibly modify, the…

To determine whether placement of items on a teacher rating scale affects the factor structure underlying the scale and to determine whether changing the item format alters the ratings given, a 12-item, high-inference student rating scale was developed containing two global items pertaining to overall teacher effectiveness and 10 evaluative items…

The What I Am Like (WIAL) student self-report scale was developed to identify students' motive patterns on a need/achievement to need/affiliation continuum. This instrument was developed from a previous teacher-rating inventory, the Motivational Needs Inventory (MNI). twenty-eight items obtained from descriptions of need/achievers and…

Responses to Snyder's Self-Monitoring Scale (SM) by 138 Mexican, 154 Mexican American, and 145 Anglo American undergraduates were analyzed to determine the scale's factorial structure. Clear differences existed in the structure of SM responses for the three ethnic/national groups showing that the meaning of subjects' responses was culturally…

Using a fifth-grade sample, the revised Self Description Questionnaire was investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the factor structure invariant across the respondants' gender. Sex difference in self-concept areas and academic achievement were explored. A new internal/external frame of reference model was proposed. (Author/BS)

Examines whether individual intelligence tests such as the WISC-R are biased against Hispanic school-aged children. Discusses three common but faulty notions of test bias, and advances a psychometric definition of bias. Analyzes evidence regarding external and internal validity. Presents guidelines for intellectual assessment of bilingual…

This lengthy study analyzed cognitive, behavioral, and family background variables in boys, age 6-7 and 10-11, from socially handicapped families. (Note: Page f. . .=fiche number.) (CP)

The factor structure and scale characteristics of a shortened version of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale (SCBE) are presented for a Quebec (Canada) sample of 910 preschoolers and three U.S. samples totaling 1,736. Also presented are age and gender differences in preschool emotional and behavioral problems. (SLD)