Classroom teachers use intuitions, experiences, syllabi, and course guides to help implement a curriculum. Psychometric techniques can also help guide and shape curricula. Some psychometric techniques allow tests to reveal the actual curriculum mastered by students in an objective and sample-free manner and to indicate a probable learning sequence…

This volume, sixth in the Educational Testing Service (ETS) collection catalog series, describes 1,560 personality and affective measures. The instruments described are used to assess the psychological, social, and affective reactions of individuals to their environment. Tests include: (1) 13 self-reports; (2) 59 interviews; (3) 101 projective…

Meta-analysis is a collection of systematic techniques for resolving apparent contradictions in research findings. Meta-analysts translate results from different studies to a common metric and statistically explore the relations between study characteristics and findings. Since G. Glass first used the term "meta-analysis" in 1976, it has…

A study of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was conducted to: (1) test for the factorial validity of the French version of the BDI (BDI-FR) separately for 551 non-clinical Francophone adolescent males and 601 non-clinical Francophone adolescent females; (2) cross-validate findings across a second independent sample for each sex; and (3) test…

Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence (MI) theory is an alternative to the unitary concept of general intelligence, but it lacks a practical, reliable, and valid method of assessment. The Hillside Assessment of Perceived Intelligences (HAPI) is an attempt to measure the seven constructs of MI theory with an objective, psychometrically sound…

Some theoretical background is presented for the proposition that thinking processes can be measured by determining the levels of cognitive complexity apparent in written interpretations of complex situations. The rationale for scoring interpretations is presented, and some illustrative data are discussed. The approach to measurement of thinking…

Reviews the judicial-legal definition of test bias as it has emerged in court litigation, asserting that while technical research studies of test bias have focused either on predictive validity or content validity, the judicial-legal concepts of test bias have attempted to focus on both these issues in a relatively non-technical manner. (JM)

In January of 1987, a planning conference was convened by the Center for Education Statistics as part of an effort to study the feasibility of various approaches to the nationwide assessment of children's readiness for instruction in kindergarten and first grade. This report provides, in an appendix, the texts of the four commissioned papers…

A review of the assessment literature on substance abuse has revealed 27 separate instruments for assessing substance abuse. These include 22 alcohol instruments and five instruments for assessing other drug abuse. The instruments are listed in a table that provides the title, source, description, population, and psychometric properties of each…

This study examined antecedents related to low vocational identity in college freshmen. College students (N=360) completed the 35-item Low Vocational Identity Antecedents Scale (LVIAS) developed for this study, the Vocational Identity Scale (VIS), and other measures. Based on results from this sample, a 15-item LVIAS was developed that…

The work of the ethicist Charles Curran and the problem-solving strategy of the mixed consequentialist ethical model are applied to a traditional social science measurement problem--that of how to adjust a recommended standard in order to be fair to the test-taker and society. The focus is on criterion-referenced teacher certification tests.…

The effects of the school psychological environment on student motivation and the indirect effects of school leadership on student motivation are examined in this report. Path analysis of a comprehensive data set of over 16,000 fourth-, sixth-, eighth-, and tenth-grade students from 880 public schools was used to develop a causal model based on a…

The psychometric properties of the Autonomy and Relatedness Inventory (ARI)--a measure of the quality of primary intimate relationships--was assessed. This 30-item instrument was designed to assess both positive and negative dimensions of any type of dyadic relationship. Cross-sectional data from in-home interviews with 213 mothers with 5- and…

The Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) project is a joint Armed Services coordinated effort to develop and evaluate a system for automated, adaptive administration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The CAT is a system for administering personnel tests that differs from conventional test administration in two major…

Psychometric research was conducted on the TEMAS (meaning "themes" in Spanish) Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Personality functioning is rated in terms of constructs such as delay of gratification, achievement motivation, reality testing, and self-concept. The TEMAS test was administered to 140 public and 140 private school students…