We examined stability and change in students' achievement goal orientations over varying tasks. Two naturalistic longitudinal studies were conducted in undergraduate courses. Students completed self-reports designed to measure their achievement goals. Achievement goals were measured four times: prior to two assignments and two exams. Four…

The clarification provided by Williams and Zimmerman on the reliability of gain scores is translated into recognizable patterns of change that tend to produce reliable or unreliable gain scores. The relevance of the traditional idea of reliability to the measurement of change is also discussed. (SLD)

The reliability of a gain is determined by the reliabilities of the components, the correlation between them, and their standard deviations. Reliability is not inherently low, but the components of gains in many investigations make low reliability likely and require caution in the use of gain scores. (SLD)

The critiques by L. Collins and L. Humphreys in this issue illustrate problems with the use of gain scores. Collins' examples show that familiar formulas for the reliability of differences do not reflect the precision of measures of change. Additional examples demonstrate flaws in the conventional approach to reliability. (SLD)

The growth curve approach to the measurement of gain of D. Rogosa, D. Brandt, and M. Zimowski (1982) was more fully developed by J. B. Willet and D. Rogosa (1985). Willet later (1989) discussed some practical aspects of applying a linear growth model and reached the conclusion that reliability may not always be a useful index for the measurement…

The reliability of the growth rate parameter estimate of Willet for a linear growth model is derived and examined critically. The effects on the reliability of the growth rate of intervals between longitudinal measurements and the covariances between longitudinal measurements are distinguished. (SLD)

Eighty Singapore teachers voluntarily participated in the evaluation of three new scales: (1) the Responsibility Scale, which measures the teacher's sense of responsibility, willingness to take on additional new duties, and perception of being assigned duties; (2) the Change Scale which measures the teacher's acceptance of changes in life as…