The typical process for assessing inter-rater reliability is facilitated by training raters within a research team. Lacking is an understanding if inter-rater reliability scores "between" research teams demonstrate adequate reliability. This study examined inter-rater reliability between 16 researchers who assessed fundamental motor…

The aim of this study was to validate a teacher rating scale (TRS-EN) for assessing early numeracy skills and for identifying mathematically low-performing 3- and 4-year-old children. Fifty-six preschool teachers assessed children's (3-year-olds = 127; 4-year-olds = 145) numerical relational, counting, and basic arithmetic skills. Construct…

Child assessment practices have undergone, and are continuing to undergo, significant changes. Among the most prominent changes is the movement toward measuring child well-being, in general, and emotional and behavioral strengths, in particular. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) is a strength-based instrument which is widely used in…

When classroom observations are increasingly used for accountability and evaluation purposes, a deeper understanding of the psychometric properties of such measurement tools is needed. The present study took a unique approach to examine the psychometric properties of a commonly used classroom observation measure by testing the reliability of…

It is common practice for K-12 schools to assess multilingual students' language proficiency to determine language support program placement. Because such programs can provide essential scaffolding, the policies guiding these assessments merit careful consideration. It is well accepted that quality assessments must be valid (representative of the…

The study investigated the use of Quantum Physics Conceptual Survey (QPCS) in probing student understanding of quantum physics. Altogether 103 Finnish university students responded to QPCS. The mean scores of the student responses were calculated and the test was evaluated using common five indices: Item difficulty index, Item discrimination…

Research Findings: This study examined the applicability of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Pre-K (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008) and its underpinning framework of teaching through interactions in typical Chinese kindergarten classrooms. A sample of 180 kindergarten classrooms in China was selected, and the CLASS was used to…

Analyzed the reliability and validity of scores of 557 14-year-old Finnish male soccer players on the children's version of the Perception of Success Questionnaire (G. Roberts and others, 1998). Internal consistency coefficients for the two subscales' scores were high, and scores on both scales had strong construct validity. (LSD)

A reliable index of lexical diversity (LD) has remained stubbornly elusive for over 60 years. Meanwhile, researchers in fields as varied as "stylistics," "neuropathology," "language acquisition," and even "forensics" continue to use flawed LD indices--often ignorant that their results are questionable and in…