A communicative-competence orientation was undertaken to study the validity of test-score inferences derived from the revised Test of Spoken English (TSE). To implement the approach, a sample of undergraduate students, primarily native-English speakers, provided reactions to the test responses of a sample of TSE examinees. (Author/VWL)

A 1929 University of Washington initiative to have students evaluate their classes and instructors is described in detail and analyzed, looking at the construction of the survey, criteria used to assess instruction, use made of the survey's results, and assessment of improvements found in the next semester. (Originally published in 1932) (MSE)

An investigation explored the use of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) by 185 readers and 152 non-readers (ages 14-21) with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation. The SDS was reliable for both readers and non-readers, able to validly measure preferences, and sensitive to preferences with respect to disability group membership.…

The leadership characteristics of 163 gifted Chinese secondary students in Hong Kong were assessed with the use of the Roets Rating Scale for Leadership (RRSL). Higher self-ratings were found for characteristics related to aspiring to leadership and achievement, openness to novel experiences and different perspectives, and high energy level than…

Analysis of scores of 69,284 high school seniors on the 1990 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) found higher means for men than women. Use of adjusted means (rather than observed means) increased the difference between men and women on the verbal section and decreased the difference on the mathematics section. Adjusted means may provide more…

Describes advantages and disadvantages of time-line interviewing and inductive content analysis for studying information users' cognitive behaviors. Uses examples from a study of users' criteria for their relevance judgments in a multimedia information environment and discusses reliability, validity, and future directions. (Author/LRW)

Explores the pedagogical role of perceived teacher confirmation in the college classroom. Finds: (1) support for confirmation as a crucial communication variable; (2) a need for further research to clarify the issue of defining "disconfirmation"; (3) support for earlier research establishing confirmation as a receiver-based variable; and…

Evaluated the Early Coping Inventory (ECI) as a measure of coping skills in low-risk nursery school children. Findings pointed to significant associations between observers' ratings and teachers' ratings on the Evaluation of Adaptive Behavior in Nursery School. Findings suggest that the ECI may be valuable in early identification of children with…

Presents an intervention, used in the Netherlands, that empowers clients in residential care homes. The intervention comprises a standardized survey-feedback procedure in which residents' opinions on life and care in their particular home are gauged, discussed, and reported. Explores instrument validity, reliability, and its use in the home. (RJM)

A strategy proposed by T. Cook and D. Campbell (1979) was used to investigate attrition in a community-based literacy program, focusing on 287 Head Start families. Data revealed interactions among intervention program-centered characteristics and person-centered characteristics that have implications for study validity and generalizability.…

Reports on the psychometric properties of a new semistructured interview, the Structured Interview for the Five-Factor Model of Personality (T. Trull and T. Widiger, 1997). Data from clinical and nonclinical samples (187 undergraduates and 46 mental health outpatients) support the reliability and validity of the measure's scores. (SLD)

Clients seek genetic counseling to become informed, make better decisions, and to be reassured. Genetic knowledge, however, involves uncertainty. Genetic information conveyed in 30 counseling sessions was studied for its predictability, controllability and novelty (unexpected findings). The interrelationship of unpredictability, uncontrollability,…

Reviews development, evaluation, and utility of the Life-Skills Development Inventory-College Form. Results taken from 553 college students establish the reliability and validity of the revised instrument for assessing life-skill achievement in college students. Implications for developmental interventions in response to identified student needs…

A study of 239 British female undergraduates explored the potential of using the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale to measure childhood emotional abuse. The concurrent validity and internal consistency of this new childhood emotional-abuse subscale were found to be at an acceptable level. (Author/CR)

A questionnaire developed to measure barriers to help-seeking behavior in adolescents was tested with 280 high school students following a pilot study. The instrument, Barriers to Adolescents Seeking Help, was found to have good test-retest reliability and adequate validity. Its use in identifying adolescents amenable to or resistant to therapy is…