A preventive health education course was added as a new requirement for graduation from Nebraska high schools. Students who already know about health issues are permitted to waive the course upon completion of a special test that was derived from the six major course objectives. Results of the first administration and validation procedures are…

Presents a short-form scale called the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA) designed for use in clinical settings to monitor and evaluate progress in treatment. Presents detailed findings concerning the reliability and validity of the ISA, along with details concerning the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the scale. (Author/RC)

Investigated the factor structure of the McCarthy Screening Test with a sample of 555 children. Data were analyzed by a principal components analysis followed by a varimax rotation. Results indicated that the subtests all measure parts of the same attribute (cognitive and sensorimotor functions) in varying degrees. (Author/RC)

Developed, on the basis of responses from 608 undergraduate students to the 33-item Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, three short forms of the scale. Comparisons made between the short forms examined in this investigation suggest the 13-item form as a viable substitute for the regular 33-item Marlowe-Crowne scale. (Author)

Evaluated the reliability and validity of objective scoring procedures on the Draw-A-Person Test. Subjects were mentally retarded persons, psychotics, and normals. Reliability estimates for both scales ranged from .42 to .78. Positive evidence indicates that overall quality does relate to overall level of psychological adjustment. (Author)

Describes the development and testing of an instrument designed to measure two factors--affect and anxiety--associated with reading avoidance. (FL)

Finds the revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test an improvement over the original edition. (AEA)

Critically evaluates in terms of predictive and concurrent validity a widely used method of identifying children at risk in peer relations. This method emphasizes children's total rate of peer interaction, regardless of the quality or skillfulness of the interaction. Recommendations are given for future research in this area. (Author/DB)

The subscales of the Bristol Social Adjustment Guides are compared with those of the Behavior Problem Checklist so as to test the hypothesis of a two-factor structure in these rating scales. The specificity of each subtest was also investigated. (Author/GK)

Reports construction of a questionnaire for measuring secondary students' attitudes toward learning French. Suggests that the instrument may be easily adapted to other languages. An appendix provides a list of scaled items on the questionnaire. (SJL)

A short verbal aptitude test was administered under varying time limits with answer sheets specially designed to allow items that had been skipped to be identified. It appeared advantageous for the more able (based on grade point averages) but disadvantageous for the less able to skip items. (Author/RL)

The initial development and validation of the Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASCS) as a measure of an academic facet of general self-concept in college students is reported. Data supports reliability and validity of the ASCS. (Author/GK)

This investigation ascertains whether the empirical factor dimensions underlying the revised Evaluation of Counselors Scale (EOC-R) for student clients of a university counseling center matched a previous sample. It was concluded that the factorial validity of the new form was basically the same as the earlier form. (Author/GK)

The reliability and validity of a priori estimates of item characteristics are assessed. Results suggest that judges can make a modest contribution to estimation prior to actual administration. (Author/GK)

A Norwegian version of the Achievement Motives Scale (AMS) was administered to Oslo sixth-graders, along with verbal, numeric, test anxiety, and lie/defensiveness tests. Results showed the relationships to academic performance predicted by achievement theory. Even when related to the personality scales, the AMS showed promising qualities.…