Describes a study comparing the grading predelictions of English instructors from two- and four-year colleges. Study findings, based on grades given to a set of five themes by instructors from both settings, showed community college instructors to be a letter grade more lenient than university instructors. (DMM)

Reports findings of a study conducted to determine whether the amount of training and experience readers have had in using a particular grading scale correlates with their judgments about the quality of an essay, and whether the amount of training and experience affects the consistencies of their judgments. (EL)

In recorded interviews, 10 camp counselors described children they believed to have high social or athletic ability. Judges rated counselors' voice tone as warmer and less hostile when describing children for whom they had high expectations. Less competent counselors were more prone to biasing effects. (Author/BS)

An evaluation of the validity of direct observation measures of pupil classroom behaviors is presented. Three types of measures are discussed: molar, molecular, and molecular-composite. Consistent support for the validity of molar and molecular-composite types of measures is revealed. (Author/LMO)

The method of paired comparisons was used to rank 42 dental students on their performance in emergency and screening clinic rotations. Results suggest this methodology may provide more internally consistent student assessments on more subtle aspects of clinical performance than those assessed by multiple-choice tests or written performance…

Examined factors that influenced the concordant perceptions of 28 distressed and 28 nondistressed husbands and wives and trained coders who observed samples of their own and another couple's problem solving. Correlational analyses suggested greater insider-outsider perceptual agreement for distressed than nondistressed couples and for negative…

Teachers and classroom aides of learning disabled pupils were asked to complete the Conners Abbreviated Teacher Rating Scale (CATRS) on two separate occasions, one month apart. Inter-rater reliability for teachers (.866) and for aides (.602), and reliability across time for teachers (.866) and aides (.603) achieved acceptable levels. (Author/BW)

This paper describes a study on rater training that involved the analysis of ratings given to English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) compositions by 8 inexperienced and 8 experienced raters both before and after rater training, using FACETS (Linacre, 1990, 1993), which provides measures of rater severity and consistency. The testing text was a…

Studied interviewer reliability, validity, and strategy for information integration. Candidates (N=412) for selection to a military division were interviewed and assessed. Results indicated that interviewers functioned in a similar fashion. Analyses of individual interviewers indicated higher reliability and individual differences among…

Results and interpretations of the data from a performance examination were compared for four methods of analysis for 74 medical specialty certification candidates: (1) traditional summary statistics; (2) inter-judge correlations; (3) generalizability theory; and (4) the multifaceted Rasch model. Advantages of the Rasch model are outlined. (SLD)

Reports on the interrater reliability of a language arts portfolio assessment in the primary grades of the Rochester (New York) school system. Results from approximately 400 primary grade portfolios rated by 2 raters show that teachers can assess their own students' work reliably. (SLD)

The Observation Procedure for Technology Education Mental Processes, a computerized assessment tool, was based on duration and frequency of mental processes needed for problem solving. Videotapes of students completing problem-solving activities were used to identify the processes. Interrater reliability tests validated the program. (SK)

The influence of information level on the production of accuracy of 20 children was examined. Data were children's productions of nouns in sets of utterances referring to triplets of pictures representing noun-verb-noun utterances. (Author/JL)

Grading profiles for formative and summative assessment in a British nursing school were designed with criterion referencing to improve validity and interrater and intercourse reliability. Assessment was conceptualized as an ethical activity that clarifies expectations through specification of criteria. (SK)

In a study of criteria for and reliability of grading of college essays in introductory psychology, 16 essays were marked by 12 faculty and 20 graduate students. Analysis found that two content attributes (facts, examples) accounted for 82% of variance in grading by faculty, while five stylistic measures accounted for the remainder. Both faculty…