When using assessment instruments for personnel purposes, identify the purposes of assessment, specify criteria for excellent performance, determine behavior standards, and select appropriate methodology. Correlation analysis is a useful technique for establishing the validity of an instrument. (SK)

Describes the development of the Psicologico Texto (PT), a personality survey specifically designed for the Spanish-literate offender. Describes problems in accurate, relevant assessment of those individuals who generally have poor literary skills. Tested PT with offenders (n=130) of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Cuban heritages. (Author/ABL)

Tested Bugen's Coping with Death Scale. Individuals who had written wills, planned estates and funerals, and signed organ donor cards scored higher on the Coping with Death Scale. Because Coping with Death scores were more consistently different in those who prepared for death, this scale may help in efforts to predict those who will engage in…

Examines issues of curricular and instructional validity, criticism of diploma-sanctioned tests, teaching the test, and the role of the courts in new solutions. Contends diploma tests may ensure that students are given the opportunity to learn those skills essential to becoming a productive member of society. (209 references) (MLF)

Created College Classroom Environment Scales (CCES), instrument with six subscales (Cathectic Learning Climate, Professorial Concern, Inimical Ambiance, Academic Rigor, Affiliation, and Structure) to assess social climate of college classrooms. Findings from four studies estimating CCES' reliability and validity suggest it is sufficiently reliable…

Designed Quality of Life Interview Schedule (QOLIS) and tested with 201 severely mentally ill people living in state hospital and community residential facilities. Factor analysis revealed eight factors with face validity and acceptable coefficient alphas. Factors were related meaningfully to overall level of functioning, total symptom scores,…

Twenty-one language tests that included norms for children ages 4 and 5 were reviewed for information on 10 psychometric criteria. Administration of the 4 tests meeting the most criteria to 20 preschool children with specific language impairments and 20 controls found that only 1 (the Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test) provided…

Developed and validated Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS) in series of studies from 1980 to 1991 involving over 600 helping professionals. Across administrations, alpha reliabilities ranged between 0.83 and 0.91, and reliabilities of intrinsic and organizational satisfaction subscales ranged from 0.85 to 0.90 and 0.78 to 0.90, respectively. (Author/NB)

Reading instruction can be transformed into cynical test-beating exercises. Victory arises from frequent practice in taking similar tests. Students who spend most of their time on test-type activities generally do better on reading tests than those who "waste" time reading for information or pleasure. Teachers whose students score highest on…

Summarizes the principles of instrument validity and reliability and identifies deviations from these principles in a random sample of 55 research studies published in 1989 in 5 refereed nursing journals targeted toward practicing clinicians. Provides documentation, justification, and suggestions for nursing educators, journal editors, and…

Presents an attempt to cross-validate a widely used set of standard credibility scales. Finds that the Meyer modification of the Gaziano-McGrath scales appears to validly and reliably measure credibility per se but that a second set of scales posited to measure community affiliation is not sufficiently reliable in its current form for use without…

Parent Role Questionnaire (PRQ), recently developed instrument to study individual perceptions of parent role, was piloted, revised, and studied psychometrically. Results from first (n=118) and second (n=94) administrations of test to graduate students in school psychology revealed that PRQ had relatively high internal consistency, moderate…

Presents the results of administering the Direct Awareness of Functional Abilities (DAFA) and the Pfeefer Activities Questionnaire to 28 demented, and 15 control subjects. Results show that the DAFA may provide a more objective measure of functional status in demented subjects than is provided by indirect methods of assessment. (MKA)

Reviews six instruments developed to assess the psychological processes associated with experiences of racism among African Americans. Recommendations for modifications, revisions, and additional reliability and validity evidence are presented for each of these relatively new measures. (SLD)

A study involving 547 individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) examined the validity of Gerben DeJong's categories of Living Arrangement and Productivity Status to assess overall independent living. Results confirmed the face validity of these categories. A sample of 28 rehabilitation professionals and individuals with SCI validated ranking…