This study evaluated the effect of training on improving the reliability of the peer review process by determining whether or not training made a difference in the variability among reviewers' scores and documentation provided to support the scores. Different levels of training were provided for participants in the peer review process who were…

J. M. Richards (1989) has demonstrated that when individuals' reports about environments are aggregated to create environmental measures, the use of coefficient alpha to estimate single occasion reliability can be misleadingly elevated and that alpha cannot distinguish an environmental measure from a "disguised measure of individual…

Retention of pupils results in a need for additional teachers, facilities, and materials at a rate approximating the rate of retention. Retention is a more serious problem for the state, which needs to pay most of these increased costs. This paper reviews the research evidence to assess the cost-effectiveness of student retention policies.…

A study addressed issues of concern in the use of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)/Educational Testing Service (ETS) Language Proficiency Guidelines commonly used in determination of oral language proficiency. Specifically, potential discrepancies between the judgments of trained raters and "naive" native…

A sample of 212 urban, black mothers and their 8- through 12-year-old children responded to questionnaires about the frequency of potentially stressful life events experienced by the children and the feelings the children had when the events took place. A 49-item questionnaire addressed childen's concerns regarding the stress categories of home…

The study compared maternal and trained observer evaluations of infant temperamental characteristics, to determine how closely the ratings correspond, and to analyze the impact of maternal drug abuse habits on maternal ratings of infant temperament. In relating observer to maternal ratings of infant temperament, seven dimensions were compared:…

The Listening Summary Translation Exam (LSTE)-Spanish is designed to assess the ability to comprehend and summarize in written English recorded conversations spoken in Spanish. Language and topics of the exam are representative of conversations the Federal Bureau of Investigation routinely monitors. This test consists of two subtests, one…

The original norms for the 40-item Stress Response Scale (SRS) were established on children aged 5-14 years and are reported by age and gender. While the norm group age range is appropriate for the clinical screening intent of the instrument, it is restrictive for studies that might examine the effects of stress on secondary school children or as…

The measurement integrity of M. A. Rahim's Organizational Conflict Inventory (ROCI-II) and D. M. Roussel's Managerial Frames of Mind Survey (MFMS) was investigated, as was the relationship between scores on the two measures. Subjects were 369 managers from three types of organizations: (1) higher education; (2) not-for-profit public sector…

Seven experiments were conducted concerning decision making and information processing under conditions of uncertainty. Several different experimental tasks were used; all presented the subject with multiple independent sources of information regarding the likelihood that some event would occur. Study 1 subjects were Air Force pilots; all other…

This paper notes the proliferation of literature about the characteristics of Japanese education and culture. Generalizations ranging from reports of remarkable progress in subject disciplines to praise of Japanese technology, social and individual behavior, and systematic accomplishments have been cited. It is contended in this study that some of…

The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) is an objectively scored, multidimensional measure of child and adolescent behavior, affect, and cognitive ability and can be completed by parents. The overall goal of this project was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the PIC as a screening device for use with preschool populations. The…

High rates of attrition among students in Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) is a major concern for Air Training Command. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the Basic Navigator Battery (BNB), a multi-test experimental selection instrument, for its potential to increase the validity of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test…

This computer program, written in BASIC, performs three different calculations of test reliability: (1) the Kuder-Richardson method; (2); the "common split-half" method; and (3) the Rulon-Guttman split-half method. The program reads sequential access data files for microcomputers that have been set up by statistical packages such as…

The High School Course/Grade Information Section (CGIS) of the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment registration folder collects detailed information about the courses students have taken or plan to take in high school, and the grades they have earned in courses they have completed. In this study, data provided by students on the CGIS were…