The purpose of this monograph is twofold: (1) to describe the advantages and disadvantages of mail questionnaires as survey research instruments, and (2) to provide guidelines for constructing and utilizing mail questionnaires with a view to maximizing response rates and minimizing response biases. Construction of an effective mail questionnaire…

A new item type was developed, incorporating features of "ill-structured" problems in a multiple-choice format. The problems are similar to previously developed scientific thinking tasks in requiring the examinee to go beyond the information provided; they resemble a variant of the logical reasoning item type, but demand somewhat more structuring…

Characteristics of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) of 10 years hence are projected. The NTE-recommended guidelines for the examination are that: the test be used for selection and certification of teachers; it will be suitable for group testing; a single map will be used for the professional component to measure teacher effectiveness; map…

The purpose of this paper is to report results on the development of a new computer-assisted methodology for creating parallel test forms using the item response theory (IRT) information function. Recently, several researchers have approached test construction from a mathematical programming perspective. However, these procedures require…

This report on the development of the Charleston County School District (South Carolina) U.S. History Area Examination outlines: (1) the preliminary planning activities to initiate the development of the test; (2) the development of test blueprints and test specifications; (3) the review of specifications for clarity, completeness, accuracy, and…

A heuristic for solving large-scale zero-one programming problems is provided. The heuristic is based on the modifications made by H. Crowder et al. (1983) to the standard branch-and-bound strategy. First, the initialization is modified. The modification is only useful if the objective function values for the continuous and the zero-one…

This report describes a methodology for using verbal reports of thinking to develop and validate multiple-choice tests of critical thinking. These verbal reports of individuals' thinking on draft items of multiple-choice critical thinking tests can be used systematically to provide evidence of the thinking processes elicited by such tests, and in…

A study was conducted to examine the usefulness of importance ratings in predicting the relationship between: (1) overall self-esteem and more specific subscale scores of self-esteem; and (2) domain-specific self-esteem scores and domain-specific self-concept scores. Subjects were 70 children attending third, fourth, and fifth grades of a public…

Much of the scientific community has believed that temperament variables could not be included in batteries of tests to predict job performance because no generalized principles could be discerned from the results. For Project A, a major Army project on the prediction of job performance, a temperament inventory was developed and implemented. This…

Interviews are the major tools of academic counseling at Northwestern State University (NSU) in Natchitoches, Louisiana. To enhance the specific application forms and the meaningful qualities of interviews, a counseling Content-Guide-Checklist has been constructed from NSU fall 1987 academic counseling interview reports and from a review of the…

Numerous techniques are available for determining cutoff scores for distinguishing between proficient and non-proficient examinees. One of the more commonly cited techniques for standard setting is the Nedelsky Method. In response to criticism of this method, Gross (1985) presented a revised Nedelsky technique. However, no research beyond that…

A 13-item adult risk taking scale was selected by factor analysis and internal reliability testing from 25 items administered to 270 urban adults (56% Black; 33% White; 11% Hispanic/other) stratified by socioeconomic status. Chronbach's alpha equaled 0.77. Five items refer to risk of injury, five to risk of illness, one to gambling, and two to…

The assessment of the changes in knowledge about aging is essential to the development of aging courses and curricula. The present instrument was designed to reliably and validly measure various areas of information about aging. An item pool was gathered by examining texts and printed materials and consulting with persons specializing in…

This handbook was developed for use by individuals with limited experience in performing good survey-based research. The essential procedures in the preparation of a survey are outlined and discussed. The method of survey construction proposed consists of several tasks: (1) survey objectives and research questions are specified; (2) literature is…

As an estimate of probability of readability is discussed within the problem of ensuring that science tests meet the purposes of measuring skills, knowledge and ability of students. The necessity of technical terms is cited while arguing that testing for language should not interfere with tests for knowledge and skills. A review of formulas for…