In order to test claims made regarding the Degrees of Reading Power Test (DRP), a study posed two research questions: (1) How well does the DRP correlate with the more venerable Stanford Achievement Test (SAT)? and (2) How well do these instruments predict students' academic classroom achievement? Three hundred sixty-nine students from two middle…

Although the suicide rate of young adults has increased dramatically, few empirical studies examine suicide in the normal population. To examine suicidal thinking and behavior in a college student sample, 43 female and 23 male college students responded to an adverse life event scenario and then filled out an extended questionnaire regarding…

The basic tenet of the Person-Environment (P*E) Congruence model posits that well-being, as one index of adjustment, is dependent on the degree of fit between the perceived environment and the preferred environment. While the literature is clear regarding the relationship of P*E Congruence and well-being, one theoretical issue that needs to be…

Feminine sex-role behavior, which includes deferential, nonassertive behavior, may stem from women's low status position and powerlessness. In a study of male and female college students, perceptions of the acceptability of assertive behavior were examined as a function of: (1) sex and status characteristics of assertive speakers; (2) sex of the…

The concurrent validity of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) was investigated by comparing it to two tests of linguistic abilities (Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language--TACL--and the Carrow Elicited Language Inventory--CELI) and five Piagetian tests of cognitive abilities (space, numeration, seriation, time, and classification) with…

The scientist who uses the experimental form does so in order to explain that which is verified through prediction. The prerequisites for prediction include a universe that is ordered, stable, independent, and knowable. Some assumptions of the predictive argument with respect to communication research are: the operating elements of the message are…

Two studies concerning the language-stimulation value of pictures for children were conducted. The first study tested the validity of a formula that classifies pictures as having high, medium, or low potency, based on the amount of language they stimulate in viewers. (The formula takes into account factors such as the number of animals, people,…

Four common uses for criterion-referenced tests (CRT) are outlined: describing student achievement, improving curriculum development, being sensitive indicators of the effects of instruction, and facilitating classroom management decisions. These uses parallel various forms of empirically establishing the content, concurrent, and predictive…

In an attempt to depart from the traditional process of orientating students to career awareness, a new approach is being developed at the Indiana Career Resource Center at South Bend, Indiana. The Basic concept of V. I. S. I. O. N. (Visual Imagery Selector for Indexing Occupational Needs) attempts to utilize a combination of the respondents'…

By focusing on "appropriateness" and "adequacy" of inference and action, unified validity may be misused in rejecting valid test outcomes. The notion of levels of validity is challenged, the necessity of assumption is argued, and experience is proposed as the basis of validity. "Consequential validity" is interpreted as an optional predictive…

Retrospective technology assessment (RTA) is the use of historical research to assess current and future technology issues. This paper uses the introduction of the videocassette recorder (VCR) as an RTA case study, focusing on the broadcasting and advertising trade presses and their forecasts of the VCR's potential impact on broadcasting. Trade…

The effectiveness of using the Perry Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development (PSIED) was assessed with vocationally undecided students. Erwin's 1981 Scale of Intellectual Development (SID) was administered to 290 vocationally undecided college students (131 males and 156 females ranging aged 17 to 42 years with a mean age of 20.2 years) at…

This paper discusses two techniques for improving the predictive validity of personality measures: (1) measuring dispositional levels of private self-consciousness, that is, one's tendency to habitually reflect on covert aspects of the self such as thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and motives; and (2) priming trait-relevant knowledge (temporarily…

Each year large numbers of children experience academic failure during the first 3 years of their public school involvement. Many studies have been done using demographic and norm-referenced tests to try to identify at-risk-for-failure youngsters either at the preschool level or early during their school experience. Most attempts have been costly…

A longitudinal study determined if children's invented spelling served as a viable predictor of reading achievement and compared the predictive value of assessing children's invented spelling relative to other notable predictors, such as letter names, letter sounds, a concept of a word, and phonemic awareness. Subjects, 52 kindergarten children…