The need for reliable, valid, and economical preschool screening measures to identify psychoeducational problems as mandated by P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Child Act) led to the development of the Minneapolis Preschool Screening Instrument (MPSI). (SW)

Nonrestricted-answer, multiple-choice test items are recommended as a way of including more facts and fewer incorrect answers in test items, and they do not cue successful guessing as restricted multiple choice items can. Examination construction, scoring, and reliability are discussed. (MSE)

The scores from the Milwaukee Academic Interest Inventory (MAII) effected a significant pattern of examinee discrimination among Holland's six personality types, as specified by his Vocational Preference Inventory. Close relationships are shown among personality, academic interests, and vocational choice as well as the construct validity of the…

Compared factor analyses of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-168 (MMPI) with the MMPI full length version using a sample of male drug addicts. Found the two versions comparable. Factor structures were highly similar for Blacks and Whites, although significant mean differences on many scales suggested greater psychopathology among…

Raises questions about the wisdom of relying on any single measure, especially a norm-referenced one such as the ACT, for making selective admission, retention, and certification decisions in teacher education. (FL)

Three important issues related to the testing debate, particularly in the context of college and professional school admissions, are reviewed and evaluated. (Author/AL)

Experimental results indicate test items taken individually discriminate strongly between abused and well-adjusted children, but not between abused and nonabused disturbed children. Items used collectively discriminate between abused children and the other two groups. Based on these results, this test is proposed to identify abused children.…

Ss were administered Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM), traditional Piagetian measures of conservation of number and mass, modification Piagetian tasks, and the Sequential Assessment Mathematics Inventory. Among findings was that creative thinking ability, as assessed by the TCAM, significantly predicts cognitive performances that…

Achievement test reliability and validity as a function of ability were determined for multiple sections of a large undergraduate French class. Results did not support previous arguments that decreasing the number of options results in a more efficient test for high-level examinees, but less efficient for low-level examinees. (Author/GK)

One hundred high school students completed semantic differential ratings of themselves in general and in four roles: student, athlete, son/daughter, and best friend. Results suggest that self-concept is better conceptualized as multiple and differentiated rather than as unitary and global. (Author/RH)

The issue of grade inflation is clarified by examining the database of the College Board's Validity Study Service. Also examined is the effect of grade inflation on the validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test across a 15-year period. (Author/GK)

Responses to the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) were factor analyzed with children (N=4972) between 6 and 19 years. Three anxiety factors emerged that were consistent with earlier studies. Factor structure of the RCMAS is for the most part invariant with regard to race and sex. (Author)

Compared two measures of perceived counselor expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness: the Counselor Rating Form (CRF) and the Counselor Effectiveness Rating Scale (CERS). Results showed expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness as measured by both instruments are not independent and are components of a single dimension of perceived…

Evaluated effects of separation-relevant play on separation anxiety in young children (N=64) to test the hypothesis that play can reduce anxiety. Children were assigned to one of three thematic-play conditions and a fourth nonthematic-play (control) condition. The experimental conditions were associated with lower posttest anxiety scores. (Author)

Presents evidence that attests to the potential usefulness of the MCI in science education research. Describes the first use of the MCI specifically in science education research and current research efforts that reveal satisfactory internal consistency, discriminant validity, and predictive validity of the MCI scales. (CS)