Scores from elementary school children and adult basic education students on the Adult Informal Reading Test were used to form distribution profiles for a number of tested variables. The profile notion was concluded to be a useful means for displaying the performance trends of published informal reading inventories. (FL)

Experience and research on the appropriateness and reliability of various criteria used in oral language tests are discussed. It is concluded that global marking schemes, which are less detailed, may enable the scorer to better evaluate communicative effectiveness, which includes both linguistic and paralinguistic factors. (MSE)

Consistency of teacher behavior across time was measured by selected instruments for 34 female teachers of grades one-six who were graduates of the same institution. Indicated teachers who were followed for four years were rated consistently by principals, students, and independent observers. (MH)

Discusses changes in testing as a result of the availability of extensive inexpensive computing and some recent developments in statistical test theory. Describes the role of the Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) and modern Item Response Theory (IRT) in ability testing tailored to each student's knowledge and ability. (JAC)

Explores the role of diagnostic practices in school psychology. Basic principles related to diagnostic typology and concepts of reliability and validity are reviewed in the context of recent diagnostic decision-making research. The intrusion and eventual reduction of particular errors of consistency and inconsistency in psychodiagnosis are…

The aims of the present study were methodological and substantive; validity and reliability of the Optimism-Pessimism Test Instrument (OPTI) were tested. Moderate, but significant, correlations were found between OPTI and attitude toward school, self-concept, delay of gratification, and locus of control. (GK)

Relationships between mothers' ratings and teacher nominations for aggressive and withdrawn behavior were examined in a sample of 40 Cuban American male secondary school students. Results were consistent with the extensive concurrent and construct validity of the Behavior Problem Checklist. (CM)

Developed an instrument to measure the well-being of the aged. The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Multilevel Assessment Instrument (MAI) assesses behavioral competence in health, daily activities, cognition, time use, and social interaction. Performance of 590 older people determined the MAI is useful for research and assessment in service-giving…

Over 2,000 writing samples were collected from four undergraduate institutions and compared, where possible, with scores on a multiple-choice test. High correlations between ratings of the writing samples and multiple-choice test scores were obtained. Samples contributed substantially to the prediction of both college grades and writing…

Classroom behavior was observed over a six-month period in 68 junior high school classes to determine (a) the temporal stability of the behavioral indexes and (b) reliable trends over the school year. A certain deterioration occurs in late spring and observations obtained in midyear are less likely to be distorted. (Author/GK)

A study is reported that investigates the validity of written simulations designed to evaluate the problem-solving behavior of pharmacy students studying therapeutics. Results with the written simulations are correlated with test scores from the course's objective examinations and with clinical clerkship evaluations. (JMD)

The Children's Adaptive Behavior Scale is described, and statistics based on children aged 6 through 10 with IQ's 50 to 89 are presented to show the relationship of scores to chronological age, the low relationship with intelligence, and the negligible relationship with race or sex. (CTM)

A description is presented of the construction and use of a questionnaire for evaluating freshman science courses. It uses a forced choice technique to measure student expectations, influence on students, and faculty objectives. Field tests are used to estimate the procedure's validity and reliability. (Author/MSE)

Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory items which differentiated between males and females by more than nine percentage points were removed in an attempt to develop a unisex occupational scale for pharmacists. The remaining items formed a unisex scale nearly as reliable and valid as the original, over short term periods. (MH)

Paracognitive evaluation of medical training recognizes the linkage between training and specific maturational trends. After administering the Paracognitive Evaluation Form to assess medical students' performance in seminars and clinical teaching situations, hierarchical cluster analysis suggested that maturational trends were measured and that…