This attempt to determine the reliability of the Modified Ashworth Scale for assessing the severity of muscle spasticity for ankle plantarflexors in 30 patients with traumatic brain injury concluded that the reliability was minimally adequate to support the scale's continued use. Interrater reliability was less than that previously reported for…

Paper introduces a collection of papers on educational assessment, noting controversies surrounding both old and new assessment methods, discussing the persistent set of technical issues that must be addressed by the research community in measurement, and examining work by the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student…

College psychology students rated 18 books on children's fears according to their potential impact on children's socioemotional growth. During a training program, they coded the books based on story grammar and specific categories of children's fears. Students then rerated the stories. Interrater reliability increased significantly from initial to…

Examined methodological issues related to the detection and evaluation of behavioral toxicity in infants and children, focusing on the selection of appropriate variables and strategies to control for confounding, sampling strategies and the problem of "overcontrol" for confounding; and the evaluation of dose-response relations and…

Describes a session on information retrieval systems that planned to discuss relevance measures with Web-based information retrieval; retrieval system performance and evaluation; probabilistic independence of index terms; vector-based models; metalanguages and digital objects; how users assess the reliability, timeliness and bias of information;…

Describes the process of producing a valid and reliable Communication Styles Questionnaire (CSQ) that teachers of 16-19 year old students in English post-compulsory education may use to monitor and evaluate how they tend to interact with students. Considers the development, validity, and reliability of the CSQ. (CMK)

Discusses issues facing research libraries relating to information technology and access to information. Considers the proliferation of digital information; the reliability of digital information; traditional library roles in the support of scholarship and research; future issues; and current projects relating to digital information. (LRW)

The validity of the 600-yard walk/run, the 20-meter shuttle run, and a modified 16-meter shuttle run was determined to measure aerobic capacity (VO2peak) in 34 children with mental retardation (ages 10-17). All field tests were found to be very reliable, and VO2peak was significantly related to them all. (Author/CR)

Demonstrates that a high degree of fairness may be achieved in international comparative research on school achievement, using the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) as an example and employing the methods of advanced pedagogical-psychological diagnosis. Includes references. (CMK)

Discusses some problems, pitfalls, and paradoxes that challenge measurement theory and practice, especially for K-12 achievement testing. Considers a number of technical issues, especially some related to reliability. Also discusses a number of practical or political issues related to validation and accountability. (SLD)

Describes a study that used a Web-based survey and a modified Delphi technique to identify criteria important to multimedia instructional courseware evaluation, validate them with a panel of instructional technology experts, and examine the effect of conducting panel discussions online. Shows information accuracy and reliability as the most…

Describes the development of the Hassles Assessment Scale for Students in College, which measured student stress. Development involved item generation, psychometric evaluation, and revision. Separate student samples participated in each phase. Results found very high levels of internal consistency for the frequency, unpleasantness, and dwelling…

Teachers deserve objective evaluations that will help them to improve. Delaware uses a four-point rubric ranging from "unsatisfactory" to "needs improvement,""effective," and "exemplary." Teachers' placement depends on frequency of demonstrated behaviors identified in each rubric. For lower ratings, the…

Data collected from 95 college students found the Comprehensive Childhood Maltreatment Inventory to have excellent test-retest reliability and 2 of the 4 subscales (Psychological Maltreatment and Neglect and Sexual Abuse) to possess adequate internal consistency. Reasons for low internal consistency for the Physical Maltreatment and Physical…

Data are reported on the long-term (6-month) test-retest reliability of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS), which is a strength-based assessment instrument. Participants included 95 typical elementary students and 26 children at risk of having or having emotional or behavioral disorders. Moderate to high test-retest correlations were…