The general purposes of this study were to investigate the factorial validity of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS), Reading Comprehension subtest, and to study the item difficulties in order to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses of sixth and seventh grade Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I students. A sample of…

The development of an Attitude-Behavior Scale through an application of Guttman-Jordan facet design is detailed. The attitude scale was constructed to meet the need in law-related education for a valid attitudinal instrument to be used in research settings and in attitude change situations. A legal education program was used as a treatment in a…

After introductory material examining student skepticism toward testing and outlining the major problems encountered by instructors in test construction and grading, this monograph explores the optimum use of testing and performance evaluations in competency-based vocational education programs. Background information is then presented, including…

A "teacher referenced" test system is discussed in terms of its development, evaluation of implementation, and final validation. This diagnostic test system for problems in primary mathematics in Holland provides reliable, applicable information about both the learning process for the classroom teacher, and diagnostic instruments and…

A theory of interaction between college students and college faculty based on similarity in style of intellectual functioning was proposed, instruments to measure student and teacher characteristics were developed, and the relationship between achievement and intellectual style similarity was studied. Studies that focus on the impacts of physical,…

An advisory committee representing counselors, curriculum specialists, students, teachers, and community members should participate in selecting standardized tests for school districts. These steps should be followed: (1) identify test purpose in relation to needs and objectives--diagnosis, placement, career guidance, program evaluation; (2)…

Counselor Trainees completed the author's Counselor's Foci Checklist. This rating scale explores seven concerns in the counseling profession: (1) clarifying roles; (2) understanding counseling theories; (3) being firm with clients; (4) being liked by clients; (5) being respected by professionals; (6) developing empathic listening skills; and (7)…

The Discovery-Expository Instrument is a classroom observation scale which measures the position of a teacher's presentation on a continuum of discovery presentation (in which the student is encouraged to solve problems with minimal help from the teacher), to expository presentation (in which the teacher provides a complete description and…

After a period of striving for equal educational opportunity and progress toward that goal, American society is now shifting toward more emphasis on educational quality. However, some fear that the rise of Minimum Competency Testing (MCT) may hinder rather than help minority students' opportunities for equal education. Despite gains in the number…

A pilot project in performance funding was conducted at Tennessee Technological University. A random sample of 112 seniors participated in a special assessment exercise involving the American College Testing (ACT) Battery and the ACT College Outcome Measures Project. The participants also completed a questionnaire designed to elicit self-reports…

The internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the adult version of the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) were determined for a sample spanning adulthood; age and sex differences were also investigated. Sixty-three men and 63 women ranging from 18 to 78 years of age, with at least 12 years of schooling, were administered…

Developmental psychologists have not traditionally documented the psychometric properties of their observational instruments, partly because such concepts as reliability and validity are associated mainly with paper-and-pencil tests. A multitrait-multimethod correlation matrix (MTMM) was presented as a useful method for the psychometric evaluation…

The author presents his view that the public has not been well informed about the limitations of college entrance examinations. Several educational trends are discussed: (1) since World War II, college admissions testing has underscored the classic American tension between egalitarianism and meritocracy; (2) more students have aspired to attend…

An instrument was developed for observing teaching behaviors related to some of the theoretical components of inquiry teaching. Four scales were designed to measure personalized planning, confrontational emphasis, transitional querying, and manipulative opportunities. Inter-rater reliability was obtained for ten taped samples of secondary social…

The development of a probabilistic model for validating Gange's learning hierarchies is described. Learning hierarchies are defined as paired networks of intellectual tasks arranged so that a substantial amount of positive transfer occurs from tasks in a lower position to connected ones in a higher position. This probabilistic validation technique…