This investigation dealt with the development and evaluation of both a music dictation test (PRM78 Dictation Test) and a sightsinging test (CSS76 Criterion Sightsinging Test). It was hoped that the dictation test could eventually be developed to serve as an adequate replacement for the latter. Thirteen samples participated in this project--7…

Results obtained by the Kudar-Richardson formula (20) adapted for use with R-KW scoring are compared with three other reliability formulas. Based on parallel tests administered at the same sitting the KR (20) estimates are compared with alternate-form correlations and with odd-even correlations adjusted by the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula.…

Data from 200 college-level tests were used to compare three reliability approximations (two of Saupe and one of Cureton) to Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR20). While the approximations correlated highly (about .9) with the reliability estimate, they tended to be underapproximations. The explanation lies in an apparent bias of Lord's approximation…

In this speech given at the 1976 annual breakfast of the National Council on Measurement in Education Dr. Thomas J. Fitzgibbon, outgoing president of NCME, responds to critics of standardized testing and outlines the correct uses for it. He believes that many criticisms of standardized testing are due to misunderstanding or a lack of information.…

A rapid method for hierarchically clustering the n objects of a matrix which portrays the interrelation of every object to every other object, where n equals any number up to 1,000 and even larger, is developed and discussed. Results compare favorably with those from other excellent methods. (Author/BJG)

A FORTRAN program for clustering variables using the alpha coefficient of reliability is described. For batch operation, a rule for stopping the agglomerative precedure is available. The conversational version of the program allows the user to intervene in the process in order to test the final solution for sensitivity to changes. (Author/JKS)

This program computes specific category agreement levels for both nominally and ordinally scaled data. For ordinally scaled data, an option is available for collapsing the original scale to a smaller number of categories, with the goal of improving the level of interrater reliability for the rating scale. (Author)

Designed to measure self-actualization as defined by Abraham Maslow, the Jones Self Actualizing Scale, as assessed in this study, possesses content validity, reliability, and a number of other positive characteristics. (JC)

When raters in a reliability study are a random sample, inferences about the intraclass correlation coefficient must be based on three mean squares from the analysis of variance: between subjects, between raters, and error. An approximate confidence interval for the parameter is presented as a function of these mean squares. (Author/JKS)

The relationships among Rao's canonical factor analysis, Kaiser and Coffrey's alpha factor analysis, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient are discussed. Implications for test reliability and validity are noted. (JKS)

Language is not and should not be a highly precise tool; attempts to make language, especially diction, more precise reduce its reliability. (DD)

Suggests four questions teachers can ask to determine whether a standardized test has provided accurate information about a particular student. (DD)

Confusion in the literature between the concepts of internal consistency and homogeneity has led to a misuse of coefficient alpha as an index of item homogeneity. This misuse is discussed and several indices of item homogeneity derived from the model of common factor analysis are offered as alternatives. (Author/JKS)

Results of experimentation suggest that the cubic spline is a convenient and consistent method for providing an accurate description of displacement-time data and for obtaining the corresponding time derivatives. (MJB)

Results from comparative testing indicate that fingertip blood is a valid indicator of antecubital venous hematocrit (hct) and hemoglobin (hgb), and that hct ratios determined on the Coulter counter are comparable to those found by the microhematocrit method. (MB)