The authors conducted confirmatory factor analyses to test three-factor and four-factor models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using the PTSD Checklist with college students reporting a traumatic event history. The authors found support for the three-factor "DSM-IV"-based PTSD diagnostic model including reexperiencing, avoidance/numbing,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of percentile schedules as a method of quantifying the shaping procedure in an educational setting. We compared duration of task engagement during baseline measurements for 4 students to duration of task engagement during a percentile schedule. As a secondary purpose, we examined the influence on…

The current study examined the initial psychometrics of the "Early Childhood Behavior Problem Screening Scale" (ECBPSS; Epstein & Nelson, 2006), namely the factor structure and associated internal consistency of factor items of parent and teacher versions as well as interrater reliability. Data came from samples of preschool- and…

The psychometric properties of scores from the Academic Self-Concept Scale are examined in a group of 198 Asian American college students. Using parallel analysis, a four-factor solution accounting for 46% of the variance was found. In a test of construct validity, academic self-concept was found to be negatively related to adherence to Asian…

U.S. teacher educators are faced with serious challenges to demonstrate the quality of the graduates they prepare. These challenges are expressed in the country's fixation on accountability and testing. We are witnessing the growth of standardized tests and alternative routes to certification as panaceas intended to solve the teacher shortage…

In an educational context, local, ecologically valid tests can reflect the use of literacy and thinking tools. These tests present a challenge to central, content-focused, high-stakes testing, and to transmission approaches to teaching. They require teachers to accept knowledge as a verb, and to design assessment protocols that reflect…

The purpose of this study is to determine the latent structure of the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 2000) at three different age levels, using the standardization sample. Maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analyses are performed to test four competing hypothetical models for fit and…

Entry-level kindergartners in classrooms from five middle class school districts were given a test of letter identification and children who scored at or below the 30th percentile on the test were classified as "at risk" for early reading difficulties. Half of these children were randomly assigned to a project-based intervention condition where…

The psychometric properties of the School Attitude Assessment Survey-Revised (SAAS-R) are examined in a sample of 321 high school students. Students completed the SAAS-R along with measures of school climate, academic self-efficacy, and school satisfaction; school-related behaviors (i.e., attendance and discipline referrals) and academic…

This article describes the development and two studies on the construct validity of the Academic Emotions Scale (AES). The AES is a French self-report questionnaire assessing six emotions in the context of school learning: enjoyment, hope, pride, anxiety, shame and frustration. Its construct validity was studied through exploratory and…

Background: A number of disorders are associated with pragmatic difficulties. Instruments that can make subdivisions within the larger construct of pragmatics could be important tools for disentangling profiles of pragmatic difficulty in different disorders. The deficits underlying the observed pragmatic difficulties may be different for different…

Analyses of sex differences in personality have been reported only in particular scales or individual domains. In this study, a psychometric meta-analysis of adult sex differences in self-reported personality was conducted based on each of the "big five" factors. Examination of 76 studies (1,057 separate effect sizes) on 35 personality…

The psychometric characteristics of the Test of Written English (TWE) rating scale were explored. Rasch model scalar analysis methodology was employed with more than 4,000 scored essays across 2 elicitation prompts to gather information about the rating scale and rating process. Results suggested that the intervals between TWE scale steps were…

L. V. DiBello, W. F. Stout, and L. A. Roussos (1993) have developed a new item response model, the Unified Model, which brings together the discrete, deterministic aspects of cognition favored by cognitive scientists, and the continuous, stochastic aspects of test response behavior that underlie item response theory (IRT). The Unified Model blends…

This study examined the performance of 48 students (mean age 10 years, 6 months) referred for evaluation of learning disabilities with the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised Tests of Achievement (WJ-R). The student sample consisted of 33 males and 15 females, all attended schools…