Describes a study involving 29 low-income parents with learning difficulties that validated a prescriptive home-danger and safety-precaution instrument containing 14 epidemiological categories to be used in the design and evaluation of family-tailored injury prevention and safety interventions. (Author/CR)

The validity of the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory was tested with a sample of 134 Chilean adults. The scale was able to discriminate between abusing and nonabusing individuals. The items which had the greatest discriminating power were related to feelings of depression, loneliness, anxiety, and family problems. (CR)

Examines the similarities and differences in the methodologies and findings of six projects that investigated the statutory testing of 11-year-old children in England and Wales. Reveals a similarity of results despite a diversity of methods. Reviews the findings in relation to other research and provides suggestions for future research methods.…

A study involving 105 sixth-graders examined three aspects of technical adequacy with respect to two general outcome measures in mathematics: the effects of aggregating scores and correcting for random guessing on reliability and validity and the extent to which the measures were sensitive to changes in performance. (Contains references.)…

This article provides an overview of strength-based assessment of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders and discusses the development and psychometric characteristics of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS). The BERS is a norm-referenced, standardized test that assesses the strengths of children and…

Examined factor structure of the emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS) in 3 samples of adolescents, with each sample consisting of 3 racial/ethnic groups. Found that the EAS exhibited poor construct validity and behaved quite differently for different grade and ethnic groups. Suggested that the most credible solution may be to reexamine the conceptual…

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), initially developed for undergraduate medical education, has been adapted for assessment of clinical skills in podiatry students. A 12-month pilot study found the test had relatively low levels of reliability, high construct and criterion validity, and good stability of performance over time.…

The structure of temperament over the ages 3 to 7 years was investigated through factor analysis of maternal ratings of 1,366 children on the Childhood Temperament Questionnaire (CTQ). Found four strong factors (inflexibility, sociability, persistence, and rhythmicity) and two weak ones (activity-mood and threshold). Discusses the strengths and…

Sixty 10- to 12-year-old Irish girls completed questionnaires that assessed depression and self-perception and a newly developed scale that assessed peer victimization. Girls were also asked to identify themselves or their classmates as being the victims of bullying. The 12 girls who said they were bullied scored higher on the peer victimization…

Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire (CCBQ) scores from 240 children with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS), 95 with high-functioning autism, 181 with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 400 with psychiatric problems, and 234 controls, indicated significant group differences on all scales and good test…

A study examined the technical adequacy of curriculum-based measurement for assessing growth in 43 second-graders whose reading performance was measured monthly over the school year with the maze task. Results showed that the maze task had good alternate-form reliability, sensitively reflected improvement of student performance, and revealed…

Presents findings from investigation of the validity of the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Scale, CIS (1989), in preschools in Concepcion, Chile. Demonstrates the reliability and validity of the scale to evaluate the interaction of the childhood educator with young children, suggesting changes to the scale. Notes differences found for school type.…

Investigated the reliability and item appropriateness, as discerned by adults affiliated with an infant center, of the Caregiver-Environment Scale (CES). Found the CES to be an easy to use, reliable instrument for evaluation. (Author/SD)

Examined validity of attachment-based measures of parent-child relationships designed for 9- to 12-year-olds. Measures included self-reports of perceptions of security and avoidant and preoccupied coping, a projective interview assessing attachment state of mind, parents' reports of willingness to serve as an attachment figure, and ratings of…

Higher education institutions have difficulty providing stakeholders with reliable, valid information about student achievement. High stakes assessment data are ambiguous in communicating such information. It is important to distinguish criterion-referenced assessment from norm-referenced assessment. This paper proposes a system that goes beyond…