The study investigated whether ethnicity and gender influenced anxiety scores at different developmental levels (grades one through three). Internal evidence of test bias was examined by computing internal reliability coefficients for the anxiety measures. The two anxiety scales were found to have adequate reliability coefficients for all groups…

A review of research concerning students' ideas of teacher effectiveness showed evidence in favor of the use of student evaluations of teaching performance. This evidence includes the validity of pupil perceptions and the value of such an exercise in itself in establishing a sound student-teacher relationship. (Author/RM)

The concurrent and discriminant validity of La Prueba de Analisis Auditivo, a Spanish auditory perception test, and the validity of the perceptual deficit hypothesis and of hypotheses derived from verbal processing theory were evaluated in a sample of 114 second-grade Hispanic pupils receiving reading instruction in Spanish. (Author/BW)

Reviews the 3-R's Test that measures achievement in three academic content areas: reading, language, and mathematics. Cautions that it lacks data supporting its validity and scaling. (HOD)

A search for systematic extraneous influences upon high school student ratings of teacher effectiveness is reported, with the view of demonstrating how such influences meeting the criteria (student motivation/preference and class size) need to be considered in the evaluation of the validity of such ratings. (PN)

Six methods for assessing children's social skills are described and evaluated. They are sociometrics, ratings by others, naturalistic observations, behavioral role plays, behavioral interviews, and self-report measures. Issues of definition, classification, and social validity are examined to provide a context for understanding problems and…

Two persuasive communications were constructed and validated. Validity was tested by verifying the presence of supportive and counterarguments. The one-sided communication was shown to contain only supportive arguments, while the two-sided communication contained both supportive and counterarguments. Implications for instruction are addressed. (JN)

The author reviews the evidence for the beneficial effects of the Self-Directed Search (SDS), indicates that Hanson and Prediger have misinterpreted the theory, that their evidence is misleading, and that other evidence indicates that males and females of the same type are similar. The virtues of raw scores are summarized. (Author)

This study examined the degree to which certain religious/spiritual constructs simply reflect personality variables and to what extent they describe unique components of individual differences. It assessed the incremental validity of several recent or widely used religious measures over personality dimensions in predicting quality of life, racism,…

Michigan is designing a new accountability system that combines high standards and statewide testing within a school accreditation framework. Sound assessment techniques are critical if the accountability system is to provide relevant information to schools and policymakers. One important component of a sound assessment system is measurement of…

Possible relationships between five test examiner characteristics (gender, race, tenure, experience as a test administrator, and experience as a test developer or scorer) and six student achievement scores (reading, writing, language usage, mathematics, science, and social studies) were studied at the school level in a statewide assessment. The…

Senator Edward Kennedy, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, submitted this report in accompaniment to United States Senate Bill 2969 (S. 2969), which was introduced by Senator Kennedy and Senator Gregg on September 19, 2002. S. 2969 provides for an office within the Department of Education to conduct high quality research…

As part of an effort to monitor the transformation of classrooms within Limpopo Province, South Africa, an instrument was developed to assess students perceptions of their learning environments. The developed questionnaire, the Outcomes-Based Learning Environment Questionnaire (OBLEQ), was designed to measure the impact of the Curriculum 2005…

Academic institutions are becoming increasingly interested in the collection and presentation of data to support strategic planning, accreditation, and accountability needs. With an increased emphasis on campus-wide involvement and centralized data collection at some institutions, the integrity, accessibility, and interpretation of data become key…

Recently NWEA completed a project to connect the scale of the WKCE with NWEA's RIT scale. Six Wisconsin school systems participated in the study, using test information from a group of over 1,500 students enrolled in fourth, eighth, and tenth grade who took both the WKCE and NWEA tests in the fall of 2003. Information from these tests was used in…