This paper reports on a 3-year, NSF-funded research and development project called ACED: Adaptive Content with Evidence-based Diagnosis. The purpose of the project was to design, develop, and evaluate an assessment for learning (AfL) system for diverse students, using Algebra I content related to geometric sequences (i.e., successive numbers…

Because 3rd Grade Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores have a direct impact on promotion, the results for that grade level are released early by the State. When the FCAT results for 3rd Grade were released in May 2007, many people were troubled. Over 80% of the elementary schools in the Miami-Dade School District showed a decrease…

In this study, we describe the development of measures used to examine pupils' attitudes towards science. In particular, separate measures for attitudes towards the following areas were developed: learning science in school, practical work in science, science outside of school, importance of science, self-concept in science, and future…

Psychometric properties are described for an inventory that measures the daily rewards and worries that parents experience as their sons and daughters transition to adulthood. In a series of 4 studies involving 847 respondents, we explored and confirmed the factor structure of the Transition Daily Rewards and Worries Questionnaire (TDRWQ) in a…

This study presents the development of a new instrument, the "Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities" (MAS). Based on the multidimensional approach, it posits that attitudes are composed of three dimensions: affect, cognition, and behavior. The scale was distributed to a sample of 132 people along with a…

Autism susceptibility genes likely have effects on continuously distributed autism-related traits, yet few measures of such traits exist. The Broader Phenotype Autism Symptom Scale (BPASS), developed for use with affected children and family members, measures social motivation, social expressiveness, conversational skills, and flexibility. Based…

Measures of adolescents' HIV/AIDS knowledge that cover only die basic facts may fail to assess underlying misunderstandings in need of intervention. We developed and evaluated a measure covering the broad domain of HIV/AIDS knowledge, emphasizing misunderstandings revealed in semi-structured qualitative interviews. These included the cumulative…

This paper aims to develop the Reflective Thinking Tendency Scale (RTTS) for teachers and student teachers. Survey was the research method used in the study. In this research, there were 599 cases and 456 of these cases were the students of the departments of the Turkish language teaching and primary school teaching within grades of 2nd, 3rd and…

Discussed is the development and psychometric analysis of a measure of rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs called the Rape Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (RABS), intended for the use with college men. Items were developed from a literature review of "rape myths" that were correlated to some measure of sexual aggression. An exploratory…

This study compared four methods for setting item response time thresholds to differentiate rapid-guessing behavior from solution behavior. Thresholds were either (a) common for all test items, (b) based on item surface features such as the amount of reading required, (c) based on visually inspecting response time frequency distributions, or (d)…

Attitudes to science scales developed in England have been used in a rural region of South Africa with children aged 10 and 11 years in a two-stage data collection investigation. Cultural constraints on the use of "foreign" scales are explored. Factor analyses reveal differences between the South African and English children. A South…

Background: In this article we address some of the challenges posed by the development of national assessment systems and discuss the need for high quality information on trends in attainment; support for school improvement processes and ways in which learning should be enhanced through valid assessment. Purpose: Key elements are explored,…

Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) has been recommended as one vehicle with which to evaluate special education and other intervention impacts (M. J. Taylor and M. S. Innocenti, 1993). Common misinterpretations of this methodology for these purposes are explained. These misapplications of ANCOVA include: (1) ignoring the assumption of homogeneity of…

This paper lays out a framework for comparing the qualities and the quantities of information about student competence provided by multiple-choice and free-response test items. After discussing the origins of multiple-choice testing and recent influences for change, the paper outlines an "inference network" approach to test theory, in…

The Perception of Parental Reciprocity Scale (POPRS) was originally developed with a late adolescent population to assess the extent of perceived reciprocity in adolescent-parent relations. This study examined the reliability and validity of using POPRS with younger adolescents. Subjects, 655 males and 636 females ranging in age from 13 to 18,…