The Ohio State Instructional Preference Scale (OSIPS) was designed to identify persons suited or not suited for teaching. After identifying six areas covered in general secondary methods courses, two researchers independently constructed a series of statements representing attitudes, ideas, and dispositions about each area and jointly constructed a 50-item scale and key allowing four possible responses to each item. The instrument was administered on a pre-post basis to beginning education students to measure learning and dispositions before and after a general methods course to determine the direction and extent of changed behavior due to course influences. A series of exploratory studies at Northern Illinois University indicated that OSIPS had potential for predicting achievement in student teaching. Test-retest studies conducted at the University of Alabama (N-122), Northern Illinois University (N-86), and Ohio State University (N-190) supported the reliability of OSIPS. A combination of statistical treatments were performed to assess the validity of individual items and the internal consistency. There is sufficient evidence to justify continued reliance upon the general theory used to construct OSIPS and to support its reliability and validity, but there is an apparent need to modify it by increasing the number of items and the range of responses to each. (JS)