The District of Columbia public schools sought to obtain an index of "customer satisfaction" from its parents through a study designed to examine their perceptions of their children's schools and school experiences. A survey was developed and pilot tested to ensure content validity and reliability. The survey focused on five areas: (1)…

The Second International Mathematics Study was conducted in 20 countries under the sponsorship of the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Among the instruments used in this study was a questionnaire investigating student attitudes about school, instruction, and mathematics. The fit of an a priori model that…

Although few question the positive impacts alternative forms of assessment can have on instruction, concerns about the psychometric quality of data obtained from such assessments are taking their toll. Scoring issues are at the heart of many of these concerns. This paper addresses the causes of these concerns: misinformation about psychometric…

Available test score evidence does not support the common claim that student achievement has declined. On the other hand, the existing evidence cannot be used to prove that student achievement has risen. This paper offers reasons why student achievement in the past cannot be compared accurately with student achievement today: (1) tests, curricula,…

This book examines approaches to the evaluation of students' critical thinking on programmatic, school-based, and classroom levels. The first chapter examines the nature of critical thinking and offers a definition as well as an appraisal of the definition. The second chapter looks at methods of gathering quality information on students' critical…

This packet contains the user's manual and profile sheets for the Vocational Assessment Protocol (VAP), a functional skills profile of vocational-related factors intended for use in the vocational rehabilitation of persons who have acquired a traumatic brain injury. The VAP consists of nine structured rating instruments and a structural summary…

Three of the most challenging problems in the custody evaluation field follow from: (1) the difficulties involved in adapting data derived from group studies or traditional tests into a form for individual cases; (2) the absence of clear and compelling guidelines to aggregate the information collected in a comprehensive evaluation; and (3) the…

The evolution of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and certification process is traced. The challenges posed by combining, for certification purposes, the scores from internal and external assessments of school candidates are discussed in the face of the low reliability of teachers'…

The Individualized Quality of Life Scale (IQOLS) is a two-component scale designed to measure the quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients. The two components are the patient's satisfaction with 14 different life areas and the importance of the life areas to the individual. By combining the two components, an overall QOL score can be obtained that…

The possibility of using the grade differential statistic in college admissions decisions is explored. The grade differential statistic is the mean difference between the freshman college grade point average (GPA) and the high school GPA (HSGPA) for freshman college entrants from a particular high school. Rather than being an index of high school…

A study examined the underlying factor structure of the aptitude tests and work samples being completed by students with educational disadvantages (limited reading and mathematics skills) who were assessed with the current assessment model in the Akron (Ohio) Public Schools. The amount of variance accounted for by the factors was also…

A study at Brigham Young University (Utah) investigated the feasibility of computer-assisted language placement testing in higher education. Benefits and problems of this approach for test administration, individualization of item selection, and recordkeeping were examined. Four steps were followed in production of a test for Spanish placement:…

Setting standards on performance measures is discussed in the context of the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS) initiative supported by the Council of Chief State School Offices. The usual item-based methods for standard setting, the methods developed by Nedelsky (1954), Angoff (1971), and Ebel (1972), were developed…

This study offers field estimates of the factor validity and internal consistency reliability of the Self-Esteem Index (SEI) using SEI data from 208 regular and special education students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Exploratory factor analytic results support the existence of four factors as anticipated; however, various inconsistencies are noted…

This literature review on educational alternatives for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) reports that only 17 citations were found that specifically addressed teacher training, program efficacy, or management of ADHD children. One was a teacher training program developed as a dissertation project, seven were research…