Describes the development of the Marital Comparison Level Index, based upon the interpersonal processes highlighted by social exchange perspectives on the evaluations of relationships. Data on 301 married individuals suggested that the relational dimensions are perceived as important, and the scale is both unidimensional and highly reliable. (JAC)

Research articles that applied quantitative techniques and were published in "Journal of Leisure Research" were examined for methodological adequacy. Suggestions to improve leisure research are offered. (DF)

Examined the subjectivity of the Harris-Lingoes Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) content subscales by asking expert judges (N=13) to group items from appropriate clinical scales that represented similar content, attitudes or traits. Results showed nine replicated subscales were highly similar and nine were moderately similar to…

Assesses the reliability and validity of the Belief in Human Benevolence scale in two studies of college students. Found that the scale possesses satisfactory levels of reliability and impressive convergent validity with numerous criteria but is subject to unwanted contamination from social desirability response style variance. (Author/JAC)

Questions the observed correlation between job experts and naive raters using the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ); and conducts a replication of the Smith and Hakel study (1979) with college students (N=39). Concluded that PAQ ratings from job experts and college students are not equivalent and therefore are not interchangeable. (LLL)

A reward was hidden under the stimulus picture representing the correct answer to a comprehension task. Accuracy and test-retest reliability of the responses of 34 two year olds were measured. Effects of the rewarded search procedure varied, depending on sex and the language structure tested. (Author/CL)

The correlation between bias components of test scores and unbiased observed scores is shown to be an effective predictor of changes in reliability and validity resulting from elimination of bias. Plausible assumptions about value of correlation and size of related variance components indicate that reducation in reliability and validity is a…

A test found responses to the Sickness Impact Profile highly reliable, whether administered in Spanish or English. However, construct validity of responses by Mexican Americans using the Spanish version, non-Hispanics using the English version, and Mexican Americans using the English version was weak. (CMG)

The mixed standard scale is a rating format that allows researchers to count internally inconsistent response patterns. This study investigated the meaning of these counts, using 943 accountants as raters. The counts of internally inconsistent response patterns were not related to reliability as measured by Cronbach's alpha. (Author/BW)

Examples are presented in which it is either necessary or desirable to transform two sets of orthogonal axes to simple structure positions by means of the same transformation matrix. A solution is outlined which represents a two-matrix extension of the general "orthomax" orthogonal rotation criterion. (Author/RC)

Data assembled from assessment centers run by an international manufacturing organization are analyzed for the purpose of evaluating which tests and exercises effectively measure specific traits or characteristics of subjects and which don't. The importance of trained observers is also stressed. (RW).

Based on the test theory model for ordinal measurements proposed by Schulman and Haden, the present paper considers correlations between tests, attenuation, regressions involving true and observed scores, and predictions of test reliability. Comparisons are made to interval test theory. (Author/JKS)

Matrix sampling of test items, the division of a set of items into different versions of a test form, is used by several large-scale testing programs. This Digest discusses nine categories of costs associated with matrix sampling. These categories are: (1) development costs; (2) materials costs; (3) administration costs; (4) educational costs; (5)…

This topical bibliography and commentary addresses methods of alternative, or informal, assessment that have proven effective, and how these methods have been, or can be, established as reliable alternatives to standardized testing. It discusses authentic assessment, forms of alternative assessment (unstructured written activities, unstructured…

A new scale for self-directed learning oriented toward learners in academic settings and in other environments such as the workplace was developed. Participants were employees of a southeastern state. To obtain reliability estimates, items were developed that asked questions about the employee's behavior in the work environment. Validity was…