Analyses of the internal consistency of three autism scales--the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Real Life Rating Scale (RLRS), and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)--were conducted with 34 children with pervasive developmental disabilities. Good internal consistency was found for the CARS. Adequate full-scale consistency was found for…

Twenty-one language tests that included norms for children ages 4 and 5 were reviewed for information on 10 psychometric criteria. Administration of the 4 tests meeting the most criteria to 20 preschool children with specific language impairments and 20 controls found that only 1 (the Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test) provided…

The stability of peer status of children (ages 9 to 12) with (N=38) and without learning disabilities (LD) was examined through sociometric measures twice in the same school year. Although test-retest reliability was good, children with LD were likely to lose peer status and be seen by peers in less favorable terms at Time 2 than Time 1. (Contains…

The Invitational Teaching Observation Instrument was developed to extend effective teaching through self-assessment and clinical supervision. Based on the theories of Invitational Education, this test analyzed both personal and professional dimensions of teaching. Items reflected research on effective teaching and were cross-validated with two…

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument, the "Job Seeking Self-Efficacy Scale," to measure perceived self-efficacy in job-seeking activities. The construction of the instrument, which incorporated tasks that have been determined to be important in job seeking for individuals with disabilities, was based on Bandura's theory of…

This paper examines the metatheoretical concepts associated with ethnographic/qualitative educational inquiry and overviews the more commonly utilized research designs, data collection methods, and analytical approaches. The epistemological and ontological assumptions of this newer approach differ greatly from those of the traditional educational…

This article discusses practical and theoretical problems related to the measurement of formal operations. The first section of the article discusses problems in measuring formal operations using the clinical interview method. These problems include the lack of both a standardized interview and a uniform scoring procedure. Section two discusses…

The study evaluated the Batelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) with 40 disabled children under 30 months of age. Subjects were also given the Bayley Scales and Vine Scales of Adaptive Behavior. Results indicated high concurrent validity, interrater reliability, and internal consistency for the BDI. (Author/DB)

Two studies concerned with agreement in ratings of temperament are reported. Ratings of the mothers of toddlers versus daycare workers were compared on the Toddler Temperament Scale (Study 1), and on ratings of a videotape of a 2-year-old child for responses relevant to six dimensions of temperament (Study 2). (Author/BN)

Because diagnostic capability of the WISC-R has remained in doubt, its diagnostic suitability was assessed by applying Kelley's method of estimating the proportion of score differences in excess of chance to the original subscales, Bannatyne clusters, and Kaufman's three factor groupings. Caution should be used when applying WISC-R diagnostically.…

Evidence is presented for the reliability and validity of the Talent Identification Instrument, an observation process in music and dance in which multiple judges rate students throughout a multisession audition. Strong agreement among raters and adequate stability estimates were found. Factor analysis and construct validity procedures provided…

A study of 83 people working in the field of autism evaluated the psychometric properties of the Autism Survey, an instrument to assess respondents' knowledge about autism. The survey was found to measure one factor, to be stable across time, and to have an internally consistent total score. (Author/CR)

Boys with (n=16) and without (n=18) intellectual disability (ID) performed the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) on two separate occasions. Comparable levels of reliability and agreement were found on the WAnT for both groups. However, the performances of boys with ID were more variable, less powerful, and resulted in lower post-exercise blood lactose…

The test-retest reliability and predictive validity of developmental quotients (DQs) derived from the Cattell Infant Intelligence Scale was assessed with 83 children with mental retardation, age 30 months or more. Scores were impressively stable on retest. DQs derived from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were superior to Cattell DQs in…

The study investigated the alternate forms reliability of four type-token ratios (TTRs) of oral language samples obtained from 52 elementary school children. Findings indicated that TTRs were not comparable when calculated for different sample sizes and that they were not reliable measures of the language performance of this population. (Author/DB)