Examines the generalizability of the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) through research with Black South African samples. The estimates of the factor structure as well as other reliability and validity estimates provided strong support for the generalizability of the PSI to South African Black college students. The results also provided partial…

Evaluation of the validity of the Learning Disabilities Diagnostic Inventory with limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in grades 2-7 found that nondisabled LEP students were over-identified as having intrinsic processing deficits. Examination of individual student protocols highlighted the need to train teacher-raters in language acquisition…

Examines the psychometric properties of a set of preliteracy measures modified from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) with a sample of 75 kindergarten students. The results of the analysis support the use of the DIBELS-M measures for identification of kindergarten students who are at-risk for reading failure and for…

A study compared the Spontaneous Writing Quotient (SWQ) of the Test of Writing Language-3 to teacher progress ratings of 147 students (grades 3-5) in the local writing curriculum. Corrected coefficients ranged from .39 to .48, offering only low to moderate support for the criterion-related validity relative to the local curriculum. (Contains…

Examined the validity of Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) scores as college admission criteria. Examination of teacher education program graduates' American College Test (ACT) scores, PPST subtest scores, PPST scores, undergraduate grade point averages (GPA), and student teaching ratings highlighted a concurrent relationship between…

The Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scales were developed to assess self-efficacy for performing helping skills, managing the counseling process, and handling challenging counseling situations. Factor-derived scale scores produced adequate internal consistency and short-term test-retest reliability estimates. Implications for future research and…

Investigated the criterion-related validity of the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales-College (ACES-College), a self-report measure of academic competence. Using comparisons to grade point average and college admission test scores, found good evidence for its validity and ability to differentiate college students experiencing learning…

The reliability and validity of a procedure to measure diagnostic-reasoning and problem-solving skills taught in predoctoral orthodontic education were studied using 68 second year dental students. The procedure includes stimulus material and 33 multiple-choice items. It is a feasible way of assessing problem-solving skills in dentistry education…

Policymakers often use Rate of Return information in formulating public resource allocation decisions. The World Bank uses this strategy to advise developing nations in setting student subsidy levels, tuition, and allocation by educational level. However, Rate of Return may be an inappropriate policy device for these objectives. (Author/MSE)

Hearing-impaired students (n=324) in grades 9-11 were administered the Adolescent-Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences. The measure was found to be valid and reliable for measuring subjects' coping skills and for assessing students' suitability for various types of educational placements. (Author/JDD)

Blind vocational rehabilitation clients (N=100) were administered the Displacing and Turning tests of the Minnesota Rate of Manipulation Tests after three practice trials. Subjects essentially scored lower than people with normal vision, with their means on both tests being at the first percentile of the norms for sighted persons. (Author/DB)

Single construct validity is examined, and appropriate statistical tests are described when criterion information is available for: (1) examinees selected at random; (2) examinees selected on the basis of the current test; and (3) examinees selected using other measures of the latent construct. Discriminant validity is also discussed. (SLD)

The study evaluated the utility of Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) subtests in differentiating learning-disabled children from students with other handicapping conditions, and compared K-ABC subtests with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised subtests. Results showed that subtest scores did not enhance differential…

Investigated effects of a computer-based career guidance program "Career Search" on the vocational maturity of grade 9 students, 29 of whom comprised the experimental group and 27 of whom comprised the control group. Results suggest school counselors can be cautiously optimistic about the Career Search program. (Author/ABL)

A method of estimating conditional standard error of measurement at specific score/ability levels is described that avoids theoretical problems identified for previous methods. The method focuses on variance of observed scores conditional on a fixed value of an observed parallel measurement, decomposing these variances into true and error parts.…