The Quality of Study Rating Form incorporates principles of meta-analysis to rate key features in a social work evaluation study. The method is described, a test of its reliability is outlined, and its potential applications are discussed. (MSE)

In a study of student teachers (N=70), National Teacher Examination Core Battery tests screened out a large percentage of secondary physical education majors, with the result that they did not qualify for state certification. Physical education majors also scored significantly lower than other majors on two of the three tests. (IAH)

Reports on a study that explored the use of a scoring procedure called Modified Confidence Weighted-Admissible Probability Measurement (MCW-APM) to evaluate curriculum design and to assess students' knowledge of economic concepts. Concluded that the MCW-APM scoring method can help teachers develop curricula to meet specific student needs. (SLM)

A study evaluated the use of the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory as a predictor of academic potential, for use in recruitment of optometry students. Although distinctive learning preferences were observed in low- and high-achieving students, correlations were not strong enough for predictive use. (Author/MSE)

Describes the use of the partial credit form of the Rasch model in the analysis and calibration of a set of writing tasks in which assessment scales and criteria were adapted to suit each task's specific demands. Potential applications of the partial credit model in language testing are discussed. (Author/CB)

Bachman's framework of language testing and standard of authenticity for language testing instruments were used to evaluate three instruments--the SPEAK (Spoken Proficiency English Assessment Kit) test, OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview), and a performance test--as language tests for nonnative-English-speaking teaching assistants. (Contains 53…

The unfulfilled promise of criterion-referenced measurement is that it would permit valid inferences about what a student could and could not do. To come closest to achieving all that criterion-referenced testing originally promised, tests of higher item density, with more items per amount of domain, are required. (SLD)

Reliability of subtest composites corresponding to 46 abilities and influences presented by Kaufman (1979) was examined for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children using standardization sample data (ages 6, 11, and 16). Increasing composite reliability was associated with the number of subtests and inclusion of Verbal Scale subtests in the…

Three short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), developed in 1991, were cross-validated on 207 male and 133 female adolescent psychiatric inpatients and outpatients. Results show psychometric properties for the short forms that are comparable to those of the WAIS-R standardization sample. (SLD)

The NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) is described as a measure of five factors of personality and its use in clinical assessment and treatment practice is reviewed. Data from 17 adult men and women show links between NEO-PI scales and other measures of psychopathology. (SLD)

Eight predictor variables from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Bender Gestalt, and a Malingering Scale differentiated 20 prison inmates faking insanity from 40 nonfaking controls. A second experiment with 22 substance abusers faking insanity and 20 schizophrenics also supports the use of the test battery to detect faking. (SLD)

When item response data do not satisfy the unidimensionality assumption, multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) should be used to model the item-examinee interaction. This article presents and discusses MIRT analyses designed to give better insight into what individual items are measuring. (SLD)

Scores from 324 Louisiana schools on the Louisiana Graduation Exit Examination and a within-school split sample of 255 schools indicate that a single subject or grade provides a less consistent and more narrow perspective on school effectiveness than a subcomposite made up of 2 subject areas. (SLD)

A 14-item instrument, the Dentist Satisfaction Survey-14, a form of a previously validated instrument, is described. Use with 522 dentists, and 29 in a follow-up, indicates that the short form is a parsimonious tool for general evaluation of dentists' job satisfaction. (SLD)

A framework is presented for implementing standardized achievement testing. Fundamental concepts and formats of the tests are reviewed, and useful references are listed. Standardized tests are considered and categorized in terms of administration format, functions, validity, and type (cognitive versus noncognitive). Thirteen basic recommendations…