This paper tests a central implication of the theory of equalizing differences, that workers sort into jobs with different attributes based on their preferences. We present evidence from four new time-use data sets for the United States and France suggesting that workers who are more gregarious, as revealed by their behavior when they are not…

The purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale (CTLS) for elementary school students. The instrument included five CTLS dimensions (subscales): the technology operation skills, the computer usages concepts, the…

This volume, one in a series in applied linguistics, is a concise handbook of testing theory and practice in foreign language instruction. Two broad categories, "prognosis" and the "evaluation of attainment," are treated in five major chapters, including: (1) prognostic measurement, (2) achievement measurement, (3) proficiency measurement, (4)…

Although the belief has been expressed that performance assessments are intrinsically more fair than multiple-choice measures, some forms of performance assessment may in fact be more likely than conventional tests to tap construct-irrelevant factors. As performance assessment grows in popularity, it will be increasingly important to monitor the…

Research has suggested that important research questions can be addressed with meaningful interpretations using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The proper interpretation of results, however, is invariably linked to the choice of centering for the Level-1 predictor variables that produce the outcome measure for the Level-2 regression analysis.…

This book is a guide to categorizing, measuring, testing, and assessing aspects of language, and is intended for language teachers, speech therapists and other language-related practitioners, and researchers, in conjunction with other resources on research methods and statistics. The first part is a discussion of basic terminology and the varied…

Free-response (FR) item formats, such as essay questions, are popular in educational assessment. The criticisms against FR items are that they are more expensive to score, take up more testing time, provide less content coverage, and are less reliable than multiple-choice (MC) items. For these reasons, FR items are often combined with MC items.…

Traditional approaches to the investigation of the objectivity of ratings for constructed-response items are based on classical test theory, which is item-dependent and sample-dependent. Item response theory overcomes this drawback by decomposing item difficulties into genuine difficulties and rater severity. In so doing, objectivity of ability…

A study investigated the reliability and validity of a measure of imagery vividness appropriate for young children. A questionnaire instrument consisting of 21 Likert-type items was developed and administered to 380 third- through sixth-grade children in a lower-middle to upper-middle socioeconomic population in southern California. Items in the…

Statistical invariance procedures provide a way of looking at the generalizability of research results from sample to sample when the research has not been validated by replication. This paper discusses the Procrustean Rotation invariance procedure following a canonical correlation analysis. The computer program RELATE is used to gauge the…

Research in how the Rorschach Inkblot Test has been utilized in the assessment of object relations is reviewed. The review includes a critical examination of six areas: (1) constructs and concepts of object-relations theory represented in the research; (2) relevant Rorschach history and history; (3) characteristics of Rorschach-based,…

The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) (P. Spector, 1985 and 1992) is a 36-item survey instrument designed to measure 9 aspects of job satisfaction, including: (1) pay; (2) promotion; (3) supervision; (4) benefits; (5) contingent rewards; (6) operating procedures; (7) co-workers; (8) nature of work; and (9) communication. In addition to measuring the…

In 1994, the journal "Educational and Psychological Measurement" (EPM) instituted an editorial policy requiring authors to use technically appropriate language and methodological practices in their discussions of validity and reliability. To determine if this policy has had any effect on current publications, 150 validity and reliability…

Qualitative research evokes rather stereotyped responses from the mainstream of social science. The following 10 standardized responses to the stimulus "qualitative research interview" (QRI) are discussed: (1) it is not scientific, only common sense; (2) it is not objective, but subjective; (3) it is not trustworthy, but biased; (4) it is not…

Not infrequently, investigators assume that reliability for groups is greater than reliability for persons, or that the error variance for groups is less than that for persons. Using generalizability theory, it is shown that this "conventional wisdom" is not necessarily true. Examples are provided from the course-evaluation and the…