The basic ingredients of test development and practice are validity and reliability, but the tested impact is equally important. The American Psychological Association Committee on Psychological Tests should be restructured to deal with testing problems, and more research should be done on the public impact of testing. (JAC)

Examines school psychologists' (N=339) rated acceptability of two approaches to assessing emotional and behavior problems and provides a large-scale validation of an instrument designed to evaluate assessment acceptability. Results indicate significant differences between assessment methods and ratings of acceptability: behavioral assessments were…

The authors of a report on the technical adequacy of alternative reading measures reflect on issues concerning "whole language" terminology, the use of both quantitative and qualitative measures, and instructional decision making. (DB)

Computerized and paper-and-pencil versions of four standard personality inventories administered to 147 undergraduates were compared for: (1) test-retest reliability; (2) scores; (3) trait anxiety; (4) interaction between method and social desirability; and (5) preferences concerning method of testing. Doubts concerning the efficacy of…

Suggestions are provided for future research in item bias detection, reduction of essay-reader variation in setting cut-score levels, and limitations of equating theory. (TJH)

Reports the results of several test-reliability experiments which compared a modified confidence weighted-admissible probability measurement (MCW-APM) with conventional forced choice or binary type (R-W) test scoring methods. Psychometric properties using G theory and conventional correlational methods are examined, and their implications for…

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to investigate the factorial validity across gender of the Self-Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III) subscales measuring general, school, English, and mathematics self-concepts. When administered to 516 male/475 female 11th/12th graders in Ottawa (Canada), the questionnaire demonstrated…

The psychometric characteristics of constructed response items referring to choice and nonchoice passages administered to approximately 150,000 students in grades 3, 5, and 8 were studied through item response theory methodology. Results indicated no consistent differences in the difficulty and discrimination of items referring to the two types of…

Whether adequate levels of interrater reliability could be obtained on a national, standardized examination using one examiner per observation was studied with 101 paired candidate observations on an examination for optometry. Results indicate that psychometrically sound judgments can be obtained with one examiner. (SLD)

Development of a parent report measure for assessing the quality of life of children with cancer is described. The Pediatric Oncology Quality of Life Scale assesses physical function and role restriction, emotional distress, and reaction to current medical treatment. Reliability and validity assessments provide preliminary support for the…

This article defends research evaluating similarities and differences in psychometric performances of students with learning disabilities (LD) and students with low achievement (LA), which concluded that psychometric test performance alone was an insufficient basis for differential diagnosis. Recent criticism of the research by Kenneth Kavale and…

A method is proposed for constructing a population covariance matrix as the sum of a particular model plus a nonstochastic residual matrix, with the stipulation that the model holds with a prespecified lack of fit. The procedure is considered promising for Monte Carlo studies. (SLD)

Two sets of real sorting data from 50 college students are used to compare results of multidimensional scaling of raw co-occurrence frequencies or dissimilarity measures (D) and profile distances (delta) to determine which yields a better representation of the underlying structure of 2 sets of stimuli. Slight differences are discussed. (SLD)

This article reviews literature asserting that legal mandates eliminating overrepresentation in special education classes may have hurt minority children and argues that such a position ignores the impact of bilingualism on psychometric test performance. The article proposes that psychometric tests be excluded from any aspect of decision making…

This article reviews the content and procedural requirements of social competence assessment for children with disabilities and presents information on multiperspective prototype assessments using a videodisc and a microcomputer with a "touch screen." Preliminary psychometric data on sensitivity, reliability, and construct validity are…