A description of the development and construct validity of two forms of the Iowa Social Competency Scale-Preschool, an instrument for assessment of typical behavior of preschool-age children as they function within a family setting, is provided. A combined form of the test requires further research. (Author/AL)

It is concluded that the Occupational Aspiration Scale is a usable instrument for measuring the occupational aspirations of high-school age youth, but that a program of measurement research is needed before one can be confident in a highly accurate measurement of youth's occupational aspirations. (Author/BR)

This article criticizes the generally held assumption that psychological test scores are trait measures. Reasons for the continuing belief in this fallacy, as well as the social consequences of its general acceptance, are discussed. Suggestions for avoiding the test-trait fallacy are made. (EB)

Describes the steps taken by City College School of Nursing (New York) in the development of nursing student placement tests. These steps include determining test items, use of multiple-choice questions, test revision, clinical performance tests, estimating test reliability, establishing standards, and using the tests. (CT)

Reviews the development of the Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS), designed to assess one's level of satisfaction toward his/her own marriage. Research results indicate that the instrument has very high internal consistency, sufficient test-retest reliability and validity, and a low degree of contamination with social desirability. (Author)

Using data from the SCRE Criterion Test composition papers, the author tests the hypothesis that the bulk of inter-marker unreliability is caused by inter-marker inconsistency--which is not correctable statistically. He suggests that a shift to "consensus" standards will realize greater improvements than statistical standardizing alone.…

Evaluated the reliability and convergent validity of three rating scales designed to measure self-concept clarity. The ratings of self, peer, and professional judges were compared. Results supported that a basic difference exists between a participant's self-reported constructs and an observer's judgment of that participant's constructs.…

Examined the reliability of spouses as observers of the behaviors that occur in their own marital relationships. Distressed and nondistressed couples collected data in the home. Across the entire checklist, nondistressed couples exhibited significantly greater consensus than did distressed couples, based on both percentage agreement and kappa.…

Examines objectivity as a criterion for excellency in language tests through a critical presentation of the characteristics of objective tests. This examination leads to a discussion of what the best approach to testing language might be, endorsing a combination of integrative and objective techniques. (Author/MES)

Describes an acculturation scale for Mexican Americans which can be administered in English, Spanish, or both languages; is applicable with both normal and psychiatric populations; and differentiates five distinct types of Mexican Americans based on four major factors. Includes reliability and validity data and a copy of the scale. (Author/SB)

No WISC-R IQ scale is immune to serious scoring errors. Inspection of the standard deviations reveals that the score an examinee receives for a given performance on WISC-R content can easily vary by six to eight IQ points. (Author)

A reliability coefficient of 0.91 was obtained between pre- and posttest administrations. Internal stability was highest for total score, the subtests measuring form tests and function words, and grammatical categories. Low coefficients were obtained for the subtests of morphological construction and syntactic structure. (Author/DLS)

The fundamental Reading Competencies Test assesses proficiency with respect to well-defined functional reading skills of high school students. Validity and reliability data for the test are presented. (Author/JKS)

The ability of the Stanford Early School Achievement Test (SESAT) to predict scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) was assessed, using pupils in grades 1 and 2 from a large midwest suburban school district. Observed SESAT-SAT correlations ranged from .257 to .723. Author/CTM)

Data from 182 teachers showed the Educational Attitude Survey to be a factorially valid and highly reliable measure. Its 16 items yield three scores: administrative aspects of mainstreaming, educational aspects, and total score. (Author/CP)