This paper provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the Preventive Coping Resources Inventory (PCRI) instrument designed to measure coping resources useful for prevention based on previous research. It specifically looks at the construct validity of the PCRI; the convergent and discriminate validity of the PCRI with related…

Analysis of secondary data was used as a way to inform the researcher about the trends in her assessment practices over a 4-year period. This was an important initial step in an effort to develop and integrate high-quality classroom assessment tasks and make sense of assessment information for decision making. Scores from 26 groups of graduate and…

This study investigated whether raters in two different training groups would demonstrate halo error when each rater scored all five responses to five different mathematics performance-based items from each student. One group of 20 raters was trained by an experienced scoring director with item-specific scoring rubrics and the opportunity to…

The purpose of this document is to provide practical guidance and support for the design, development, and implementation of large-scale assessment systems that are grounded in research and best practice. Information is included about existing large-scale testing efforts, including national testing programs, state testing programs, and…

The research literature suggests that the mental health professionals serving lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people may not be prepared to adequately address the unique needs of the population. There is a need to study the factors that influence the degree to which therapists attitudes and behaviors are affirmative toward their gay, lesbian, and…

This study examined the use of two locus of control instruments for teachers in the Caribbean: the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control (LOC) Scale (T. Wolf, M. Sklov, M. Hunter, and G. Berenson, 1982) and the Medway and Rose Teachers' LOC Scale (F. Medway and J. Rose, 1981). Participants were 183 teachers from 10 high…

This paper examines the use of portfolio evaluation in accrediting higher education teachers in the United Kingdom. It explains portfolios as an approach to authentic assessment and discusses the issue of reliability in portfolio assessment when teacher accreditation depends on it. Researchers investigated one course, collecting data on 53…

The study's specific goals were to adapt conventional flow methodology to define and operationalize young children's cognitive strategies exhibited during their participation in adult-guided musical activities; and develop a valid and functional method of assessing young children's musical cognition "in situ" through systematic and…

Although computer-based testing is becoming popular, many of these tests are limited to the use of selected-response item formats due to the difficulty in mechanically scoring constructed-response items. This limitation is unfortunate because many constructs, such as writing proficiency, can be measured more directly using items that require…

Most often, new teachers default to the pedagogical practices they themselves were exposed to as teacher candidates. If teacher education programs are to promote the value of collaboration, they must teach and model collaborative pedagogy within their programs. This study is a qualitative examination of the soundness of two forms of collaborative…

This report responds to a request for information about the quality of the tests the City University of New York (CUNY) uses to decide who must take remedial courses and a profile of CUNY freshmen. Roughly 65% of CUNY bachelor's degree students and nearly 90% of associate degree students are required to take remedial courses in reading, writing,…

Ideas about educational assessment are synthesized to construct a Quality Assessment Checklist that can be used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of classroom assessments. Sound assessment begins with clear and appropriate learning targets. Once learning targets have been identified, they need to be matched with appropriate methods.…

The construct validity and internal consistency (reliability) of the 30-item form of the Leadership Behavior Descriptive Questionnaire (E. Fleishman, 1957; A. Halpin and B. Winer, 1957) as presented in a current leadership text was assessed. Classroom teachers and administrators (n=187) completed the instrument. Although reliability was found to…

This study used Project Essay Grade (PEG) to evaluate essays both holistically and with the rating of traits (content, organization, style, mechanics, and creativity) for Web-based student essays that serve as placement tests at a large Midwestern university. In addition, the use of a TopicScore, or measure of topic content for each assignment,…

Discusses the development and analysis of Raven's Test of Logical Operations which uses the same problem solving rules as Piaget's. Indicates that the test is sensitive to the determination of students' difficulties with specific types of reasoning patterns. (CC)