The basic theory that the teacher style required for effective learning in the classroom is contingent on the favorableness of the group situation was tested in a controlled experiment. Eight groups of eighth-grade boys were assigned to two teachers, four groups for each. Two hypotheses were under examination: (1) A task-oriented teacher will be…

The proportionality model assumes that total testing time is proportional to the number of test items and the number of options per multiple choice test item. This assumption was examined, using test items having from two to five options. The model was not supported. (Author/GDC)

Using both the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) and the Purdue University Scales, 727 undergraduates rated 32 instructors. The BARS had less halo effect, more leniency error, and lower interrater reliability. Both formats were valid. The two tests did not differ in rate discrimination or susceptibility to rating bias. (Author/GDC)

The relationship between anxiety and learning was examined within the context of drive theory and trait-state anxiety theory. Results indicated that trait anxiety had a causal influence on state anxiety and on test performance. The possibility of a reciprocal relationship between state anxiety and performance was suggested. (Author/BH)

The accuracy of estimation of the subjects' latent ability maintained by tailoring for each testee the order of item presentation and the border of item dichotomization was compared to the information provided by the original graded test items. (RC)

Effects of an applicant's information management strategy while responding to a job application item requesting illegal candidate information and moderating effects of applicant sex and position were studied for 12 hypothetical school job applicants with 108 graduate student raters. The interactions of strategy, sex, and position have important…

Over the last 15 years or so, research into measurement error has begun to consider not just whether the test items fit, but whether the people who answer the items fit. Attempts to systematically identify people who do not fit the typical pattern have led to several "person-fit statistics." This digest describes the need for such…

This study investigated the differences in disordered eating behaviors and attitudes in Japanese and American college students. The results of a 2X2 Anova revealed a significant nationality difference. American students reported more disordered eating symptoms than Japanese students (p<.01). This may be due to a convergence of biological,…

The Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is a relatively new, statewide performance assessment of students in grades 3, 5, and 8. When first administered in May of 1991, the MSPAP included a battery of performance assessment tasks designed to generate written or drawn responses to reading texts. This study evaluated selected…

Surveys used for program and institutional evaluation, such as self-studies conducted for accreditation review, are discussed. Frequently, these evaluations take the form of faculty surveys and student surveys. This paper explores the following general considerations associated with mail surveys and other surveys: avoidance of response bias;…

This report explores an approach to item development and psychometric modeling which explicitly incorporates knowledge about the mental models used by examinees in the solution of items into a psychometric model that characterize performances on a test, as well as incorporating that knowledge into the item development process. The paper focuses on…

Factors affecting the return rate of a mailed questionnaire were investigated. A survey was mailed to 196 students who had dropped out of home study courses offered by a distance education university. The effects of personalizing the cover letter and of including anonymous pre-coded personal information on the questionnaire were studied in a 2 X 2…

The processing of incoming psychological information along the network, or schemata, of self-knowledge was studied to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of the patterns of schemata-specific response latencies. Fifty-three female and 52 male university students completed the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI). BPI scales assess…

Part I summarizes data on the final version of the Student Self-Report, an affective, multiple-chioce questionnaire developed to measure the kinds of behavioral and attitudinal chanqes which elementary counselors most often attempt to produce when providing services to students in Grades 3-6. Part I contains reliability and validity data for the…

Direct approaches to attitude measurement make it easy for subjects to give socially desirable responses which may affect the outcome. A regression analysis method called policy capturing was used to study prejudicial attitudes in college students and to obtain estimates of the variance accounted for by predictors associated with sex. Students…