Briefly describes the rationale, history of development, and current status of the "proficiency-based" testing movement in the United States. and cites areas in which additional research and development work are recommended to enhance both the validity and the practical value of this approach. (Author/LMO)

The study evaluated use of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) with 77 successful deaf college students. Findings indicated that profiles were similar to those of hearing college students, that Form A was more appropriate for this population than was Form E, and that reliability and content validity were both questionable. (DB)

Reviews research on the use of the "T-Unit" as a measure of language ability, demonstrating that the measure has limited utility in the case of second language, since it bases itself solely on syntax and does not reward speakers for sophistication in such areas as vocabulary. (Author/CB)

Proposes a highly structured six-step employment interviewing technique which includes asking the same questions, consistently administering the process to all candidates, and having an interview panel. Results of a field study of 243 job applicants using this technique demonstrated interrater reliability, predictive validity, test fairness for…

The article summarizes procedures in the development of a valid and reliable instrument for measuring three social components of alienation (isolation, powerlessness, and normlessness) in 10- to 14-year-olds and discusses the instrument's practical applications for school and community health educators, parents, and other professionals who…

The study describes the Shewan Spontaneous Language Analysis (SSLA), establishes its reliability and validity, and reports on its use with 47 aphasic adults who had suffered a single unilateral occlusive cerebral vascular accident two to four weeks prior to testing and 30 normal adults. (Author/DB)

Analyzed several data sets to compare the prediction possible from a uniform general factor score with that produced by a separately tailored set of regression weights when those weights are applied to a new cross-validation sample. Found that with smaller samples, the uniform general factor score was clearly superior. (Author/ABB)

Offers practical tips on how teachers can determine whether classroom tests are actually measuring what they are designed to measure. Discusses criterion-related validity, construct validity, and content validity. Demonstrates how to determine the degree of content validity a particular test may have for a particular course or unit. (Author/DH)

Conducted exploratory field study to examine how age-concepts are experienced and to assess relationship of age identities to each other. Proposes Cognitive Age as a new multidimensional age scale that merges the standard scale, Identity Age, and Personal Age. Study results attest to Cognitive Age scale's reliability and validity. (Author/NB)

Concerns arise about two of the most widely used measurements in writing research because of faulty logic in the construction of the Writing Apprehension Test and the possibility of incomplete analytic procedures using T-unit analyses. Two experiments were conducted to address these concerns. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)

The validity of using an analysis of patterns of performance on the Meeting Street School Screening test versus using the composite cutoff score for identification of learning disabilities was analyzed for 1,377 first graders. Use of subtest scatter predicted later learning disability placements less accurately than chance. (Author/DB)

A role-playing measure of teenage girls' problem-solving skills--the Problem Inventory for Adolescent Girls (PIAG)--was administered to groups of Caucasian and Black female delinquents and nondelinquents. The PIAG significantly differentiated between adjudicated delinquents and nondelinquents and between subjects reporting high and low levels of…

The study investigated the effectiveness of three instruments in discriminating 20 autistic from 20 trainable mentally retarded children (ages 3-12): Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning (ASIEP), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Diagnostic Checklist for Behavior Disordered Children. The CARS and ASIEP provided for a…

The present study replicated an earlier investigation using the Pupil Control Ideology (PCI). The findings were congruent with earlier results. Consequently, it was recommended that the PCI should be refined and that the 10 item, unidimensional scale should be used in future investigations. (Author/LMO)

College students were administered the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale (MMCS). Most of the 3-item subscales had adequate reliabilities. A factor analysis of intercorrelations of responses revealed three pure factors and three ambiguous factors. Results provide partial support for reliability and factorial validity of the MMCS.…