The development, formative evaluation, and potential uses of the "Sixteen Quality Indicators" (16 QI) rating scale are described. The scale was developed as a systematic way to rate the quality of Skill Qualifications Tests (SQTs) in the United States Army. An SQT measures a soldier's knowledge of a military occupational specialty. It is…

The purpose of this study was to provide evidence for adapting and generalizing the use of the Children's Academic Motivation Inventory (CAMI) to high school students. The instrument was originally developed to provide a reliable, valid, theory-based measure of academic achievement motivation; it was suitable for use with children aged 12-14…

This report presents the results of a study designed to evaluate the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation's (JOCRF's) measurement of structural visualization. Three experimental tests--the Incomplete Open Cubes Test, the Guilford-Zimmerman Spatial Visualization Test, and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices--were added to the JOCRF's test battery…

This manual describes the theory behind the Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ) used in Australia and defines what the subscale and scale scores mean. The LPQ is a 36-item self-report questionnaire that yields scores on three basic motives for learning and three learning strategies, and on the approaches to learning that are formed by these…

Procedures for developing and validating a modified cloze test are described. The multiple-choice cloze procedure was developed to aid in the rapid placement of college freshmen who are students of English as a second language. It was designed to overcome some problems in the original cloze test, to reduce anxiety, and to be machine scored. The…

This report is intended to assist those agencies considering using California's Probation Officer Examination as a tool for selecting personnel. It is intended to provide agencies with guidance in setting test cutoff scores rather than an exhaustive discussion of all of the factors that must be considered before setting cutoff scores for actual…

A "modified essay examination" was used to help teach and to assess clinical problem-solving skills with 11 first trimester doctoral students. This examination provided a paper-and-pencil simulation of problems encountered in case management. Students were required to generate hypotheses, formulate questions, discuss issues, and make…

This paper is limited in scope to the preliminary questions that must be asked about a single instrument before one can use students' impressions of their teachers as part of any diagnostic or evaluation process. The described analysis is intended as illustrative of the kinds of questions that should be obtained to demonstrate the reliability and…

Noting that instructor and course evaluations represent important, ongoing concerns to students, faculty, and administrators in speech communication, this paper uses the experimental approach to consider the purposes of evaluations, explores major evaluation issues, reviews the literature concerning specific variables possibly related to these…

Extended caution indices (ECI) specify the degree of confidence that can be placed in an individual's test score by analyzing patterns of item response. Among the most promising of such indices are the standardized ECIs. Contrary to the literature, several instances were found, in a previous study, of nonnormal distributions of ECIs with samples…

The development of a Spanish computerized adaptive placement test at Brigham Young University (Utah) is described. The test is based on an approach that locates an examinee's ability along a continuum of latent ability rather than determining the degree to which an individual's ability differs from the abilities of others taking the test, as in…

A study evaluated a composition grading scale used in the University of California at Los Angeles' program of English as a second language (ESL). It looked at (1) the comparative difficulty of the subscale categories; (2) the interrelationships of the subscale categories; (3) the incremental arrangement of the subscale categories and performance…

This study examined the objectivity, trainability, and reliability of the SRI observational system (developed at the Stanford Research Institute) as it was modified for use in the "A Study of Schooling" research project. Four instruments in the observation system were tested. The physical environment inventory recorded the architectural…

These studies in test adequacy focus on two problems: procedures for estimating reliability, and techniques for identifying ineffective distractors. Fourteen papers are presented on recent advances in measuring achievement (a response to Molenaar); "an extension of the Dirichlet-multinomial model that allows true score and guessing to be…

A study measured student awareness of a variety of reading and study skill elements: author attitude and bias, signal words, vocabulary, organizing to read, notetaking, mental imagery, and reading flexibility. It also established a reliability coefficient for the Survey of Study-Reading Habits instrument, a 15-item, 4-point Likert type scale…