In an effort to determine the validity of placement tests used at Rancho Santiago College (Santa Ana, California), for placing students into mathematics courses, a study was conducted comparing the course performance of students who met test cut-off scores ("eligible" to take the course) with students who did not meet the cut-off scores…

Evaluation of the Attitudes Toward Statistics Scale (ATS) of S. L. Wise (1985) was extended by examining scale responses in relation to: (1) the scale's factor structure; and (2) the correlation of ATS subscale scores with students' grades in statistics courses at several levels of graduate study, students' sex, and scores on measures of basic…

Performance data on the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS) for entering college students were collected through a pilot study of 4,234 students in 16 colleges. This study was also designed to permit several checks on the validity of the DTLS by examining the relationship of DTLS scores to the following criteria: English course grades,…

This study assessed the usefulness of the dynamic testing approach to optimize testing procedures by reducing or eliminating bias, conceived of as error in measurement attributable to factors entering into performance which were not the target of the assessment. The study examined: (1) whether the dynamic assessment approach yields information…

The study empirically examines the effects of economic and non-economic variables on college persistence by presenting a causal model that relies on both economic theory and V. Tinto's Student Integration Model in order to enhance an understanding of the role of finances on the college persistence process. Analyses conducted upon a sample of 466…

Determining the overall pass rates on the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) for a given cohort of students involves an analysis of both the first-time examinee performance and subsequent pass rates of students who failed the test and retook it at a later date. Two increases in the scores required to pass the CLAST in 1986 and 1989 have…

This report explores the student background characteristics that might be associated with success or failure in calculus and evaluates the effectiveness of remedial mathematics education. The sample consisted of two groups at the University of California, Santa Cruz: (1) all students (105) who took first quarter calculus in spring, 1985; and (2)…

This paper illustrates the need for full description and measurement of differences between "experimental" and "control" situations in school program evaluation studies. Two studies were completed at the University of Oregon involving the innovative program--differentiated staffing (DS). The first study, a doctoral investigation, sought to assess…

The study reported here sought to establish the predictive validity of the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP), an instrument designed to identify preschool children at risk for school-related problems in the primary years. Children (N=338) in 11 states who were originally tested in 1980 as part of the MAP standardization project were given a…

A study was conducted at Pima Community College to determine the relationship between the final grade received by students in an introductory, algebra-based physics course (PHY 121) and their scores on the reading, writing, and mathematics portions of the college's nonmandatory assessment test. Between 1983 and 1988, 639 students obtained a final…

These two reports describe the research, analysis, and results of the second phase of a three-phase research study sponsored by the Standards and Training for Corrections Program (STC) of the California Board of Corrections. The validation report consists of seven chapters. Following an introductory chapter that explains the rationale for the…

Previous research has suggested that extrinsic rewards operate to decrease intrinsic motivation to perform a task when they are offered for an initially intrinsically motivating task and then removed. To determine the initial intrinsic motivation of studying, 170 Canadian community college students were divided into one control and four treatment…

Community psychology, as a field based primarily on rhetoric and ideology, is in a particularly vulnerable position as changes occur in the social and political climate. A more realistic recognition of the complexities of the change process points to the unique contribution of community psychology as a field of inquiry. A major problem of…

Survey results have suggested that, while teachers like to have test information available, most do not have great skill or consistency in interpreting test score data. Teachers who consider a certain type of test very valuable or useful are less likely to question the accuracy of the scores than are teachers who consider a test to be of little…

In order to develop a valid replacement for the difficult to administer and costly Chalk Carving Test presently used in screening Dental Laboratory Specialist (DLS) candidates, an experimental battery of perceptual tests was given to 172 prospective DLS students. Dexterity tests were also given to a subsample. Experimental laboratory ratings and…