Corpus-based vocabulary research has had a profound impact on English language education, and there is abundant evidence that this will remain the case for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the greatest challenge of such research is the determination of what constitutes a "Word" for counting and analysis purposes. Decisions in this regard have…

Purpose: To evaluate whether the validity of the Receptive Vocabulary scale of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for Infants (MCDI-I; L. Fenson et al., 1991), a parent-report measure of early vocabulary, could be improved for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by removing items that are biased. Method: Logistic…

The construct validity of scores on the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The purpose of this study was to test the fit of the SACQ authors' proposed four-factor model using a sample of university students. Results indicated that the hypothesized model did not fit. Additional…

Differing findings exist on how Defining Issues Test (DIT) scores relate to intelligence. Further study is needed in order to address aspects of intellect not previously considered and to address how these relationships rival studies that have compared indices of intellect with constructs similar to DIT scores. In the present study, a sample of…

This dissertation reports development and validation studies of a Web-based standardized test of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL), designed to measure learners' off-line grammatical and pragmatic knowledge in multiple-choice format. Targeting Japanese majors in the U.S. universities and colleges, the test is designed to explore possible…

In this study, the ability of test development staff to predict the difficulty of analogy items was explored. The nature of the item attributes that contributed to test writers' predictions of difficulty as well as actual item difficulty was also investigated. The two expert test writers studied were quite good at predicting item difficulty. Item…

The Adolescent Coping Scale (E. Frydenberg and R. Lewis, 1993) (ACS), developed in the Australian context, has been used widely since 1993 as an instrument to measure coping. Studies to date have published data highlighting the relationship between variables such as age, ethnicity, gender, attitudes and achievement, and coping. In doing so, they…

In many cross-cultural research studies, assessment instruments are translated or adapted for use in multiple languages. However, it cannot be assumed that different language versions of an assessment are equivalent across languages. A fundamental issue to be addressed is the comparability or equivalence of the construct measured by each language…

This paper presents two general approaches to the assessment of knowledge structures, the first of which entails the building of empirical evidence to support cognitive theory. This type of assessment is concerned with attempting to prove the existence of various knowledge structures; that is, evidence that leads to the construct validity of these…

Examines construct validity from the perspectives of phenomenology and ethnographic research, critical theory, the interpretive analytics of Foucault, and the deconstructive criticism of Derrida. Concludes that construct validation is a pragmatic and critical activity. (FMW)

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test Fiedler's contingency model of leader effectiveness, which characterizes leaders as either task-oriented or motivated by successful interpersonal relations. Results using undergraduate students had negative implications for the validity of the model and the Least Preferred Coworker Scale. (GDC)

A job satisfaction questionnaire was completed by 4,130 exempt and non-exempt employees of a computer company. Results supported test reliability and validity and suggested exempt employees were more satisfied. Satisfaction with the nature of work and satisfaction with pay and working conditions were the most important facets. (GDC)

Conducted meta-analysis with 23 studies to assess relationship between supervisory ratings and results-oriented measures of performance. Corrected mean correlation was higher when relative (versus absolute) rating format was used and when composite (versus overall) rating method was used. Differences did not account for all remaining variance…

This paper examines the validity of measures of teacher effectiveness from the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS). It considers the following claims regarding teacher effects: (1) they capture teachers' unique contributions to student learning adequately; (2) they reflect adequate standards of excellence for comparing teachers; (3)…

This follow up study is in response to Miller, Fleming, and Brown-Andersons (1998) study of ethnic differences between Caucasians and African-Americans where the authors suggested that the Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) Scale may need to be interpreted differently depending on ethnicity. In this study, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for…