Use of the Cognitive Skills Inventory (CSI) in cross-cultural studies was investigated by comparing responses of 348 English-speaking, 142 bilingual Puerto Rican, and 109 monolingual Spanish college students. Analyses illustrate a stable and reliable factor structure across cultures for the CSI and its Spanish translation. (SLD)

The latent structure, reliability, and item discrimination of 33 items on a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) instrument representing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were assessed. The study sample included 311 adolescents ranging from ages 12 to 19 years. Demographic characteristics of the…

Four writing samples were obtained from 638 foreign college applicants who represented three major foreign language groups (Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish), and from 60 native English speakers. All four were scored holistically, two were also scored for sentence-level and discourse-level skills, and some were scored by the Writer's Workbench…

The comparability of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Verbal and Mathematical scores was investigated for one nonhandicapped and nine handicapped populations. The handicapped populations included hearing impaired, visually impaired, learning disabled, and physically disabled students. Special methods of test administration included Braille and large…

A STUDY OF ACHIEVEMENT-RELATED BEHAVIOR SOUGHT TO IDENTIFY PARENT BEHAVIOR AS A SOURCE OF VARIANCE WITHIN A HOMOGENEOUS GROUP OF CHILDREN. SUBJECTS WERE 72 SETS OF NEGRO PARENTS OF FIFTH-GRADE CHILDREN IN A PREDOMINANTLY LOWER-CLASS NEGRO SCHOOL. THE INTERACTIONS OF PARENTS AND CHILD AS THE YOUNGSTER SOLVED EIGHT TASKS WERE OBSERVED IN THE HOME BY…

The purpose of the study was to develop a course-evaluation form for the assessment of student-centered courses. The development of the instrument was derived from theoretical views of student-courses which suggested five dimensions. The dimensions included bases of power, positive classroom environment, personal meaningfulness, student…

This monograph studies the policy-making process of public schools at the elementary and secondary levels. Variables include legislative bodies and courts at the local, State, and national levels and special interest groups (e.g., labor unions and religious bodies, professional educators, and qualified voters). Public expectations have contributed…

A pilot study was conducted to ascertain if creative abilities measures could be adapted to the upper elementary school level and maintain their factorial validity. The factorial validities of seven measures of productive thinking abilities at the upper elementary school level were tested across grade levels and different socio-economic…

The objectives of this study were twofold: first, to develop an improved version of the instruments used to measure Goal IV (Attitude Toward School and School Learning) at the fifth and eleventh grade levels in the public schools of Pennsylvania under a program of "Educational Quality Assessment" mandated by the legislature. Secondly, it was the…

A number of methods have been used to identify potentially biased items within a test. These methods examine one item at a time and do not deal with the complex interrelationships among items or among items and the potentially biasing elements. The use of multivariate procedures to assess whether or not items are biased and to obtain clues about…

This investigation is an extension of TM 506 002. A factor analysis of the intercorrelations of academic self-concept and reading scores revealed three factors: Academic Achievement, Positive Academic Affect, and Anxiety. The results also showed that the factor structure served to explain the criterion-related validity coeffecients obtained in the…

Overall correlations between personality/motivation and verbal reasoning, divergent thinking, and creative writing in 1,416 children, aged 10-13 were low, suggesting that classroom climate and teaching methods may affect this relationship. (Tests are appended.) (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House,…

This study investigated construct validity and factorial invariance of a performance assessment of reading comprehension and writing proficiency through a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) structure using confirmatory factor analysis. The performance assessment was administered to 1,023 fifth and sixth graders. Interrater reliability was examined for…

The dimensional structure of the 1987 Advanced Placement (AP) French language examination was tested in four populations using a series of confirmatory linear factor analysis models. To mitigate problems with the linear factor analysis of multiple choice items, the linear factor analysis of item parcel scores, made of small mutually exclusive…

A substantially revised Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) was introduced in spring 1991. The new examination is designed to assess critical thinking skills, basic concepts and problem solving facility in science, and writing skills. This paper reports preliminary findings on the factor structure of the revised MCAT, which consists of four…