Claims that arguments about the invalidity, purposelessness, and misleading nature of ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, remain intact despite attempts to counter the arguments. Presents a detailed critique of arguments presented in an article in the previous of this journal supporting ELLA.…

Describes the rationale and development of a new screening test, Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-3 (DIAL-3), which is based on previous editions. Empirical research is presented to document item additions and deletions as well as the continued maintenance of three performance areas: motor, concepts, and language. (Author/CR)

The reliability and validity of a revised version of the Reading History Questionnaire was examined using 84 adults from an ongoing study of familial dyslexia and the parents of 107 children from a longitudinal study of reading development. The results indicated that the questionnaire (appended to the article) is both reliable and valid. (Contains…

The Sibling Interaction Scale (SIS), an observational tool, was employed to investigate the interactions between 52 siblings (ages 1-20) with and without disabilities. Differences between nondisabled/disabled sibling pairs were found in the complexity of their sentences, the interpretation of the behaviors, and the roles they engaged in.…

A study of 1,000 children examined the effectiveness of the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) in measuring parental psychological and physical maltreatment of children, as well as nonviolent modes of discipline. The CTSPC was found to be better suited to measuring child maltreatment than the original Conflict Tactics Scales. (Author/CR)

This study assessed the interrater reliability of a Swedish version of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), an instrument for screening and diagnosis of autism. The CARS was used for rating autistic behavior by two investigators in 25 children. Results indicated fair to excellent agreement. Aspects of validity and reliability are discussed.…

Describes a new instrument to predict dropouts, the Student At-Risk Identification Scale (SARIS). The SARIS consists of two subscales, one from student records and one that is a self-report. Scale construction is described, and narrative data are presented, along with evidence of reliability and validity. Predictive and diagnostic values of the…

Addresses the role of affect in writing by describing the psychological construct of writer self-efficacy. Presents the Writer Self-Perception Scale that teachers may use to assess classroom writing climates and children's perceptions of themselves as writers. Describes the instrument, its administration and scoring, assessment and instructional…

A battery of "g" loaded mental ability tests was administered to 274 Bedouin children and adolescents, full and half siblings from 106 families. Results demonstrate internal validity for the tests in this cultural context and support the idea that shared family environment is a strong determinant of sibling similarity for children in the…

This meta-analysis of 12 studies assessed the efficacy of projective techniques to discriminate between sexually abused and nonsexually abused children. Results indicated the techniques were able to discriminate distressed children from nondistressed subjects, but were less able to discriminate the type of distress. (Author/DB)

Discusses a few of the current concerns about creativity measurement, including fluency as a contaminating influence on originality scores and the controversy over creative generality vs. content specificity. Describes recent advances in creative measurement and proposes possible future directions for psychometric approaches to creativity…

A study assessed the usefulness of three measures of self-esteem in 72 British individuals (ages 17-24) with Down syndrome. Internal consistency estimates were high, but validity was only demonstrated for the Self-Perception Profile for Learning Disabled Students, supporting its use with individuals with verbal mental ages of around 7 years.…

Study seeks to develop a valid, reliable measure of lifetime religious and spiritual experience and to assess its value in explaining late-life health. Discusses the development of the Spiritual History Scale, a 23-item four-dimensional, retrospective summary measure of religious and spiritual practices and attributions over the life course.…

Investigates the general factor and uniqueness characteristics of the individual tests of the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Ability-Revised (WJTCA-R). Only 2 of the 19 WJTCA-R tests examined had low general factor loadings, while 2 had low uniqueness. All other tests had medium or high uniqueness. Discusses implications for clinical…

Examines the performance characteristics of 83 school-identified learning-disabled children on the Differential Ability Scales. Sixty percent showed a significant standard score discrepancy between the General Conceptual Ability and at least one achievement test. Implications regarding the educational diagnostic and intervention processes…