Certain testing procedures will overcome some of the problems associated with the use of essay tests. Essay tests may not validly indicate achievement because the questions included in the test may not fairly represent instructional content. Reliability may be a problem because of variations in examinee response in different situations, in test…

Information useful for the identification of child abusers was developed. Data initially collected provided feedback concerning the characteristics and attitudes of child abusers. An MMPI profile analysis was conducted in the second phase of the study. While 10 of the 15 subjects had one or more scale scores above T-70, the average group profile…

Ordinal response modes for multiple choice tests are those under which the examinee marks one or more choices in an effort to identify the correct choice, or include it in a proper subset of the choices. Two ordinal response modes: answer-until-correct, and Coomb's elimination of choices which examinees identify as wrong, were analyzed for scoring…

TO EVALUATE THE PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE ACT TESTS AND THE NON-ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SCALES OF THE STUDENT PROFILE SECTION, AT 14 2-YEAR AND 21 4-YEAR COLLEGES STUDENTS WHO HAD COMPLETED THE ACT BATTERY PRIOR TO ADMISSION WERE SURVEYED FOR THEIR ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THEIR FRESHMAN YEAR. CRITERIA INCLUDED COLLEGE…

MANY OF THE 150 ITEMS FORMING THE PACE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT SCALES (CUES), AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING COLLEGE STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT, FALL WITHIN THE CATEGORY OF HIGH RESPONSE VARIABILITY (50 PERCENT TRUE AND 50 PERCENT FALSE RESPONSES). THE AUTHOR HYPOTHESIZED THAT THIS VARIABILITY IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO CERTAIN…

The Vocational Performance Sample (VPS), a vocational assessment instrument for the severely retarded, integrates norm referenced technology with current innovations in domain referenced tests and learning potential assessment. The domains are based on a systematic sampling of types of training procedures and types of discriminations and/or…

Fair, valid, and reliable measurement of dependent variables is a concern in personnel evaluation studies. Performance tests, that is, job or work sample tests, situational tests, and job learning or trainability tests, are being used with increasing frequency as measurement techniques capable of meeting these needs. The three categories of…

This report summarizes a series of studies on the ability to structure acoustic material as a measure of musical aptitude. It is divided into two sections. Section one explains the general approach of the study. Behavioralism as a research approach which rejects inner states of being in favor of studying concrete operations, the importance of…

Three areas of concern related to test bias and validity should be considered during the revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. The first area concerns the sources and consequences of test bias. Five sources of bias have been identified: numerical bias, role bias, status bias, stereotypic bias, and familiarity bias. The…

This criticism of writing competency tests questions both the efficacy of a test developed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the reliance of individual states on the products of private testmakers. The paper suggests that a hidden curriculum is being developed by independent and semi-independent organizations that…

Research is reviewed on the validity of the Kindergarten Screening Inventory (KSI), an instrument developed by the Houston, Texas Independent School District to screen kindergarten students for possible difficulties that could lead to learning problems. The KSI includes eye-hand coordination, language learning, gross-motor subtests, as well as…

The need for objective evaluation of the social and emotional adjustment of elementary school children has become increasingly acute, yet few tools are available which can provide data on the epidemiology of psychopathology in the school-age child. The present study undertook to cross-validate a behavior checklist for boys, the Pittsburgh…

THIS REPORT DESCRIBES WAYS OF ASSESSING CHANGES IN PUPIL ATTITUDE AND MORALE. REVIEWS OF PREVIOUS MEASURES OF SCHOOL MORALE ARE INCLUDED. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE SCHOOL MORALE SCALE ARE--(1) MORALE ABOUT THE SCHOOL BUILDING, QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL AND REGULATIONS, COMMUNITY AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT, AND…

A test of curiosity is being constructed with a view to item-content appropriateness for a population of unselected adults. Curiosity may be defined as specific or diversive. It was felt that the two were not synonymous and there was a need to differentiate between them; the test of specific curiosity under construction aims to identify the…

The four modes of cognitive preference are recall (R), principles (P), questions (Q), and application (A). The Science Cognitive Preference Inventory (SCPI) and an extensive background questionnaire were administered to 144 high school students from throughout the United States who were enrolled in various summer science programs for talented…