Finds the test useful but criticizes its lack of generalizability of norms and the absence of reliability, validity, or normative information for the Spanish version. (FL)

In a long-term health intervention campaign, researchers tested the proposition that consistency among people's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors is contingent on high levels of involvement with a given subject. (DF)

Describes a study which examined the reliability, validity, and scalability of a new technique for constructing, administering, and scoring dictation tests to measure second language proficiency. Findings indicate that such tests can be constructed easily by dividing a coherent text into segments of increasing length. (SED)

A questionnaire is designed to allow assessment of a simple additive value function for testing respondent preferences for different types of information used in evaluating police services. Responses are analyzed to determine what types of information different stakeholder groups consider useful. (Author/LMO)

Reports findings of a study that examined the extent to which the variability observed in reading levels of common junior high textbooks was also present in four popular high school social studies texts. (FL)

While controlling for overall intellectual level, this study assessed the interpersonal problem-solving skills of 150 families via written tests and behavioral performances. Interrelationships between written and behavioral interpersonal cognitive problem-solving skills were examined, as were the relationships of each problem-solving measure to…

Argues that the Degrees of Reading Power test is not a valid tool for its main purpose, matching students to appropriate texts, because the test's units of text difficulty are not uniformly comparable to the test's units used to reflect a reader's ability. (HOD)

Explains significant but accounted for factors that affected the validity of the Degrees of Reading Power Test. (HOD)

A study involving 95 retarded persons (16-66 years old) revealed that the Objective Behavioral Assessment-OBA-, a behavioral system for assessing self-care, social, sheltered domestic, prevocational, and sheltered work performance skills, has a high degree of objectivity and acceptable standards of inter-rater and test-retest reliability. (CL)

Two levels of the Students' Attitudes Toward the Mentally Handicapped (SAMH) inventory were developed and administered to fourth and seventh graders (N=306). Results suggested that internal reliability estimates of responses on subscales and total scale were acceptable; the SAMH was useful in assessing student attitudes toward mentally handicapped…

A current study of major changes in the behavioral science curriculum in a family practice residency is reported. The survey instrument appears to be highly reliable for assessing graduates' perspectives on specific aspects of residency training in the behavioral sciences. (MLW)

The 15 components used for assessment in an introductory psychology course were examined to determine their relative value as predictors of overall performance. Multiple-choice tests were consistently found to be more effective than essay examinations, but arguments are presented for the retention of essays, with suggestions for their improvement.…

Describes a study which submitted data from a multiple-choice English as a second language reading comprehension test to classical test theory item analysis and latent trait measurement. The purpose was to identify weak items and to compare the number of weak items indicated by the two different approaches. (SED)

A study of the comparability of results of two techniques of testing, the traditional approach and that of giving the students the questions before the examination, revealed little difference in the two approaches' results, and supports the use of "prior notice" to reduce test anxiety. (MSE)

A new instrument designed to assess perceptions and attitudes toward proposal development and funding was administered to 416 American Educational Research Association members. The instrument demonstrated good scaling properties and high internal consistency. Discriminations beyond the chance level were obtained on both sex and proposal…