A 21-item measure of pre-school children's "self-concept as a learner," known as the Behavioral Descriptor Scale, was developed and evaluated. The child's teacher and an assistant were required to complete the scale for the child at two different times. Satisfactory levels of reliability were gained for each scale item. Test-retest…

In Rasch terminology, two or more tests are linked when they are joined into a pool related to a single scale. When the same item calibrates at a low level on one test and a high level on a second test, it indicates that the item is low on the first test because the other items on that test are higher, and is high on the second test because the…

The reliability and validity of measurement is analyzed by a sampling model based on generalizability theory. A model for the relationship between a measurement procedure and an attribute is developed from an analysis of how measurements are used and interpreted in science. The model provides a basis for analyzing the concept of an error of…

Evaluability assessment is a descriptive and analytic process intended to produce a reasoned basis for proceeding with an evaluation of use to both management and policymakers. It was jointly developed by the members of the program evaluation group of the Urban Institute between 1968 and 1978. The approach begins by obtaining management's…

THE INSTRUCTIONAL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND EVALUATION UNIT OF THE DADE COUNTY (FLORIDA) PUBLIC SCHOOLS CONSTRUCTED SEVERAL INSTRUMENTS TO MEASURE CHILDREN'S LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. FOUR OF THESE INSTRUMENTS WERE USED BY THE SPECIAL LANGUAGE TEACHER PROJECT IN A STUDY CONDUCTED FROM FEBRUARY TO MAY, 1967 IN DADE COUNTY SCHOOLS. THE OBJECTIVES OF…

FOLLOWING DISCUSSION OF THE NATURE AND VALIDITY OF NEW YORK STATE CIVIL SERVICE EXAMS, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT VALIDITY OF SELECTION PRACTICES CONCERNS CONSIDERATIONS BEYOND A COEFFICIENT OF CORRELATION BETWEEN A SET OF PREDICTOR SCORES AND A SET OF JOB PERFORMANCE CRITERIA. THE REAL VALUE OF A SELECTION PROGRAM LIES IN ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN…

A study was conducted to determine whether interjudge reliabilities on assignments of comprehension questions to the Barrett Taxonomy categories could be attained and whether the taxonomy could be used as a criterion to assess varying levels of reading comprehension questions in various reading textbooks. A total of 623 questions from three fourth…

The measurement of personality characteristics via the analysis of verbal communication is of interest due to its unobtrusive, accessible, and objective nature. The Mahl Speech Disturbance Indices, a procedure for assessing anxiety on the basis of speech disturbance patterns, was examined to assess the nature and reliability of the indices and…

The scoring scheme of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is studied, as well as techniques for estimating its reliability. NAEP data are collected on students of age 13 in the fall, age 9 in the winter, and age 17 in the spring. The scoring task, involving hand scoring of open-ended items, may vary between 25,000 responses to…

As an alternative for or adjunct to paper-and-pencil tests for predicting personnel performance, the United States Air Force studied the use of peer ratings as an evaluative tool. Purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of peer ratings among Air Force basic trainees. Peer ratings were obtained from more than 27,000…

A theory was conceived to explain student, teacher, and classroom environment characteristics or constructs, which may influence student attitudes toward school and various subjects. A questionnaire representing the constructs, the Inventory of Affective Aspects of Schooling (IAAS), was developed and administered to 601 students in grade 4. Factor…

The English language portions of appropriate levels of the Language Assessment Scales (LAS) were administered to 193 English-speaking monolingual elementary school students. The students were aged 5-14, and had average reading achievement scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. On the basis of the publisher's norms, maturational trends in scores…

The Situational Self-statement and Affective State Inventory, a research inventory comprised of five hypothetical situations involving interpersonal conflict, and a series of self-report measures of psychopathology were administered to 224 undergraduates to examine the correlational relationship between specific cognitions and affective states in…

This paper describes the development, utility, and validity of the Situational Self-statement and Affective State Inventory (SSASI), a research inventory designed to assess cognitions and affects across a variety of five hypothetical situations. Each situation describes a realistic incident involving interpersonal conflict, principally criticism…

This study examined the effects of pretraining Chicano and non-Chicano seventh-grade students using items parallel to those appearing on tests. The sample was 44% Chicano and 56% non-Chicano. Prior to instruction on factors and primes, all seventh-grade students in a school were given an Arithmetic Reasoning Test and a Missing Words Test as…