The topic of differential diagnosis and its application to the use of the Revised Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) is discussed. The theoretical bases for differential diagnosis and the properties of assessment instruments with diagnostic properties are presented.…

The document reports the development of three pre-entry criterion--referenced tests (Skill Checks) designed to assess an applicant's verbal and numerical competencies and to assist in the implementation of remedial education where needed, in the vocational training areas of office occupations, automotive mechanics, and machine shop. A general…

This explanatory booklet and the materials that accompany it have two major purposes. The first purpose is to provide local school officials information regarding the performance on basic skills achievement of each student who took the 1972-73 Michigan Educational Assessment Battery. The second purpose is to provide local officials with…

The success of objectives-based programs depends to a considerable extent on how effectively students and teachers assess mastery of objectives and make decisions for future instruction. While educators disagree on the usefulness of criterion-referenced tests the position taken in this monograph is that criterion-referenced tests are useful, and…

The purpose of this study was to compare two instruments for screening preschool children for potential learning problems. The two instruments used were the Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) and the Wizard of Oz Preschool Preliminary Screening Program. The children tested on both measures were members of a self-contained kindergarten class. MRT…

A re-analysis of the Situational Attitudes Scale (SAS) was conducted to investigate its generality, validity and reliability and to suggest a more conservative method of analyzing the data. Three forms of the SAS were developed under the name Situational Attitude Inventory. Forms A and B corresponded to the originals; they tested attitudes toward…

The Opinion Attitude and Interest Survey (OAIS), a multi-dimensional personality and interest inventory, provides 14 scales which furnish information pertinent to the admission and counseling of college bound students. The validity of the Academic Promise Scales and two of the Psychological Adjustment Scales was investigated, as was the…

This review summarizes the major criticisms of standardized tests and testing and attempts an evaluation of the validity of the criticisms. Viewed in the context of type of test, manner of its use, and assumptions regarding its validity, the paper discusses: (1) the imperfect-prediction problem, where predictions of performance are invalidated by…

This is a selected compilation of 47 items relating to criticisms of tests and testing. The items cover the period of ten years immediately preceding the year 1966 and are held to be scholarly writings almost without exception. The books and articles listed carry extensive annotations and focus on the following aspects of tests and testing:…

It has been hypothesized that personality needs have a significant impact upon eventual occupational placement. The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) was designed to provide researchers in Career development with a quick and convenient measure of a number of relatively independent personality variables, or needs. It gauges 15 such needs…

In Piaget's developmental psychology the fourth and highest stage of human cognitive development is that of formal operations. The research on formal thought instruments is outlined. This study was designed to construct and validate paper-and-pencil instruments which could be used to select students capable of abstract conceptualization,…

An experimental study examined the possibility that proximity error could bias results from semantic differential questionnaires. Proximity error occurs when, due to the ordering, or polarity, of the differential scales, one answer on the semantic differential results in another answer to a subsequent question being substantially changed from what…

The report summarizes research on the development of an objective scoring system and the formulation of scales useful in the assessment of psychological development and normal behavior using a five-card, orally administered and tape-recorded version of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The TAT language scales which were developed represent…

The paper contains a discussion of the modification of Rotter's Internal External Scale into the three scales of Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance orientations. The tripartite, multidimensional view of locus of control was developed because the validity and usefulness of Rotter's lumping expectancies of fate, chance, and powerful others…

This publication, the first of two volumes, describes the cognitive, psychomotor, and socioemotional measures used in all years of the Head Start Planned Variation Evaluation. Part I discusses generally the issues involved in evaluating the quality of the data, and summarizes findings. Part II contains technical reports on 12 of the individual…