Examined the ability of CAGE, an established screening test for alcoholism, to identify accurately problem drinkers among college students (N=582). Found that the CAGE did not perform well enough to serve as a screening tool for problem drinking within the college student population. (Author/ABL)

Outlines some practical procedures for assessing test quality. Tests are relevant when learning outcomes have been correctly defined, when test content is aligned with instructional objectives, and when test and instructional formats are similar. Reliable tests follow administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures and consider difficulty…

Describes development of Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), self-report inventory for measuring severity of anxiety in psychiatric populations. Describes study results which showed BAI to have high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and to discriminate anxious diagnostic groups from nonanxious diagnostic groups. (Author/NB)

Discusses the problems of using chronometric analysis, a common cognitive psychological method, for educational assessment. Suggests that cognitive assessment has not reached the precision needed to analyze individual differences. (FMW)

Data are presented on the validity and reliability of a new form of employee honesty testing: "The Integrity Interview." Results indicated that this instrument was a reliable alternative to commonly used written measures, although further study is needed to establish normative data across different employee populations and settings.…

Describes the development and psychometric properties of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ), a self-report measure of memory ability and confidence. The MSEQ and its alternate versions were examined in 3 experiments involving 558 adults. Satisfactory estimates of internal consistency and test-retest stability were obtained. (RJC)

Examined the equivalence of two versions of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) using four combinations of paper-and-pencil and computer administrations with college student subjects (N=75). Found slightly better test-retest reliability for the computer-based SCII. (Author/ABL)

Refutes Leslie MacLean and Harvey Goldstein's charges (in the January 1988 "Kappan") that the National Assessment of Educational Progress Reading Proficiency Scale is based on a single assumption (reading proficiency) accounting for responses to all reading tasks. Characterizes the scale as developmental, with points corresponding to…

Rebuffs Leslie Maclean and Harvey Goldstein's claims that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Proficiency Scale is unidimensional. Critics' confusion may stem from failing to separate what a test measures from a score's usefulness. The Lexile Reading Scale should be integrated with the NAEP scale. Includes eight…

The factor structure of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children was evaluated with 169 gifted students, aged 6-10. Results tentatively suggested that the factor solution for gifted students is dissimilar to that for the standardization sample, as subtests designed to assess sequential processing did not all load together, nor did those…

Describes contraints on reading instruction, such as basal readers, assessment methods, and academic competition in the classroom. Presents a motivational agenda for improving reading instruction that removes the focus on ego and extrinsic goals and stresses self-appraisal and development of positive attitudes. Includes 45 references. (MLH)

The Policy and the Higher Literacies project reviewed state and local "thoughtfulness" mandates, interviewed appropriate administrators, and visited schools and classrooms boasting higher literacy activities. While most interviewees believed in commercial test validity, those engaged in higher literacy activities largely ignored such…

LISREL maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analyses assessed the effects of grouped and random formats on convergent and discriminant validity of two sets of questionnaires--job characteristics scales and satisfaction measures--each administered to 80 college students. The grouped format was superior, and the usefulness of LISREL confirmatory…

Explored validity and potential use of Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS). Subjects included 100 adults currently in psychotherapy, 100 adults not in psychotherapy, 32 who had previously sought treatment, and 41 college students. The results showed that the FOS differentiated between patients and nonpatients, but it measured only one general factor and…

The structural validity of the Index of Organizational Reactions (IOR)--an eight-factor job satisfaction scale--was investigated via confirmatory factor analysis. Results of first- and second-order factor analyses of data concerning a stratified random sample of 445 employees of a large financial institution are reported. (TJH)