Because of reliability and validity problems in teacher- and parent-rated early childhood questionnaires, the Preschool Temperament Inventory (PTI) was developed to help teachers assess and appreciate individual differences of children prior to first grade. The PTI uses teacher ratings on eight temperament categories, including activity level,…

A series of research studies on the consistency of reading specialists' diagnoses of students with reading problems have indicated that clinical agreement has been astonishingly low. To investigate which factors seem to lead to consistency in clinical diagnosis, a study was conducted based on a theory of clinical problem solving called inquiry…

One of the major factors for the lack of quality listening research is a lack of knowledge about the process itself. The second major factor is the lack of a reliable and valid listening test. From a review of 107 articles on listening, 38 reports of listening research, and from studies of seven examiner-developed and three commercially-developed…

The study, involving 379 students (6-20 years old), investigated the 3-year performance stability of handicapped children from four racial groups (Anglo, Black, Mexican American, and Native American). Data were collected from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-R) and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT). Results…

A standard method for exploring item bias is the intergroup comparison of item difficulties. This paper describes a refinement and generalization of this technique. In contrast to prior approaches, the proposed method deletes outlying items from the formulation of a criterion for identifying items as deviant. It also extends the mathematical…

Behavioral observation has become increasingly important in research in developmental and clinical psychology, as well as in program evaluation and instructional research. Several statistical approaches to assessing the dependability of behavioral observation were reviewed. The demand for accurate and efficient paradigms for behavioral observation…

An explicit model identifying 10 relevant components of achievement gain scores has been developed. Based on that model, all students under consideration are stratified according to individual observed pretest score, and achievement gains are measured relative to the average and range of gains among students in the same prescore stratum. The…

A Spanish translation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) was tested for reliability among kindergarten to ninth grade Puerto Rican children. The study was prompted by the concern expressed in previous studies that translated and adapted intelligence tests, which have been standardized primarily with children of one culture, do…

A 20-year study to monitor moral developmental stages is summarized with a focus on the invariant sequence and internal consistency of each stage. It is theorized that an individual passes through several stages in attaining moral judgment. As children grow older, they are able to integrate diverse points of view on a moral conflict. Each stage…

The study investigated statistically significant correlations between levels of test anxiety and socioeconomic status among college sophomores and juniors. The Anxiety Scale (Alpert and Haber) was administered to students in an educational psychology course. Administrations were conducted at a neutral time, 45 days prior to the final exam, and…

A study compared General Equivalency Development (GED) program completion and Adult Performance Level (APL) attainment in West Virginia. During the study, 97 GED program participants, who were not exposed to APL instruction or materials, completed the APL survey either just before or immediately after taking the GED examination. Seventy-seven of…

Much previously published material for estimating the reliability of classification has been based on the assumption that a test consists of a known number of equally weighted items. The test score is the number of those items answered correctly. These methods cannot be used with classifications based on weighted composite scores, especially if…

The development of the Invitational Teaching Survey (ITS) which measures personally and professionally inviting teacher practices within the framework of invitational education was discussed. The development included initial item identification, validity evidence based on judgments, item selection based on judgments, validity evidence from a…

A taxonomy for literature reviews in education and psychology is presented. The increased use of the descriptor "literature review" in ERIC and Psychological Abstracts documents between 1969 and 1983 is cited as creating the need for categorization. The taxonomy categorizes reviews according to focus, goal, perspective, coverage,…

The High School Survey on Drugs was developed to assess the drug attitudes of and usage by high school students. The survey was designed to determine drug usage in a specific geopolitical area and to determine drug education program needs. The questionnaire is easily administered to groups of students. There are three types of questions associated…