A Comparative Study of the Angoff and Nedelsky Methods: Implications for Validity

The Angoff and Nedelsky methods are two well-known procedures for setting passing scores on tests. Previous comparative studies indicate that the Nedelsky method tends to consistently set the lowest passing score relative to the Angoff and other methods. However, it cannot be concluded that the lower Nedelsky estimates are less accurate, because previous studies have not included a criterion of the correct passing score against which Nedelsky and other passing scores could be validated. The present paper describes an experiment in which criterion measures of the correct passing scores were generated and were compared for accuracy to Angoff and Nedelsky estimates

A megbocsátás pszichológiája: kialakulása, hatásai és fejlesztése

A megbocsátás az interperszonális sérelmekre adott egyik lehetséges válasznak tekinthető, melynek fókuszában a sérelmet elszenvedő személy kognitív, érzelmi és viselkedéses válaszaiban bekövetkező proszociális változás áll. A megbocsátás mentális és fizikai egészségre kifejtett pozitív hatása jól dokumentált. Magas szintje alacsony szorongás- és depressziószinttel társul, illetve sikeresen csökkenti a stresszre adott fizikai választ (kortizol és kardiovaszkuláris reaktivitás). A megbocsátást - hatásai alapján - olyan emóció fókuszú megküzdési módként definiálhatjuk, mely sikeresen csökkenti az interperszonális sérelem nyomán kialakult stresszreakciót. Az utóbbi években számos intervenciós technikát dolgoztak ki, melyek a megbocsátás támogatását, illetve fejlesztését tűzték ki célként. Ezek a módszerek általában sikeresen növelik a megbocsátásra való hajlandóságot.</o:p

An investigation of a criterion- referenced test using G-theory, and factor and cluster analyses

There has been relatively little research on analytical procedures for examin ing the dependability and validity of criterion-referenced tests especially when compared to similar investigations for norm-referenced ESL or EFL tests. This study used three analytical procedures, namely, G-theory, factor and cluster analyses, to investigate the dependability and validity of a criterion-referenced test developed at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989. Dependability estimates showed that test scores are not equally depend able for all placement groups and are rather undependable for two out of the four placement groups. Factor analysis of test scores for the placement groups showed that though two-factor solutions were the best solutions for the different groups, there were differences in the way the subtests loaded in the different groups, with progressively fewer subtests loading on the second factor as ability increased. This finding led to the extension study with cluster analysis which showed that a number of students might have been differently placed if subtest scores were used to place them.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68766/2/10.1177_026553229200900104.pd

What's in a grade? The multidimensional nature of what teacher-assigned grades assess in high school

Historically, teacher-assigned grades have been seen as unreliable subjective measures of academic knowledge, since grades and standardized tests have traditionally correlated at about the 0.5 to 0.6 level, and thus explain about 25–35% of each other. However, emerging literature indicates that grades may be a multidimensional assessment of both student academic knowledge and a student's ability to negotiate the social processes of schooling, such as behavior, participation, and effort. This study analyzed the high school transcript component of the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) using multidimensional scaling (MDS) to describe the relationships between core subject grades, non-core subject grades, and standardized test scores in mathematics and reading. The results indicate that when accounting for the academic knowledge component assessed through standardized tests, teacher-assigned grades may be a useful assessment of a student's ability at the non-cognitive aspects of school. Implications for practice, research, and policy are discussed

File S2: Additional exploratory analyses of participants above and below clinical cut-off scores on the SCAS and SMFQ

Background Despite substantial evidence demonstrating numerous parental risk and protective factors for the development of adolescent depression and anxiety disorders, there is currently no single measure that assesses these parenting factors. To address this gap, we developed the Parenting to Reduce Adolescent Depression and Anxiety Scale (PRADAS) as a criterion-referenced measure of parental concordance with a set of evidence-based parenting guidelines for the prevention of adolescent depression and anxiety disorders. In this paper, we used a sample of Australian parents of adolescents to: (1) validate the PRADAS as a criterion-referenced measure; (2) examine parental concordance with the guidelines in the sample; and (3) examine correlates of parental concordance with the guidelines. Methods Seven hundred eleven parents completed the PRADAS, as well as two established parenting measures, and parent-report measures of adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms. Six hundred sixty adolescent participants (aged 12–15) also completed the symptom measures. Concordance with the guidelines was assessed via nine subscale scores and a total score. Reliability of the scores was assessed with an estimate of the agreement coefficient, as well as 1-month test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was examined via correlations between the scale and two established parenting measures. Results One proposed subscale was removed from the final version of the scale, resulting in a total of eight subscales. Reliability was high for the total score, and acceptable to high for seven of the eight subscales. One-month test-retest reliability was acceptable to high for the total score. Convergent validity was supported by moderate to high correlations with two established measures of parenting. Overall, rates of parental concordance with the guidelines were low in our sample. Higher scores were associated with being female and higher levels of parental education. Greater parental concordance with the guidelines was associated with fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescent participants. Discussion This initial validation study provides preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the PRADAS. The scale has potential for use in both clinical and research settings. It may be used to identify parents’ strengths and potential targets for intervention, and as an outcome measure in studies of preventive parenting interventions

Planning an experiment in the company of measurement error

"Textbook" calculations of statistical power and/or sample size follow from formulas that assume that the variables under consideration are measured without error. However, in the "real world" of behavioral research, errors of measurement cannot be neglected. A recent sample-size determination approach is easily adapted to incorporate unreliability information for both completely randomized and randomized block analysis-of-variance designs. A worked example presents an instance wherein a blocking strategy is clearly advantageous assuming infallible measuring instruments, but not when the same instruments are granted fallibility

Analysis of test results via log-linear models

The recently developed log-linear model procedures are applied to three types of data arising in a measurement context. First, because of the historical intersection of survey methods and test norming, the log-linear model approach should have direct utility in the analysis of norm-referenced test results. Several different schemes for analyzing the homogeneity of test score distributions are presented that provide a finer analysis of such data than was previously available. Second,the analysis of a contingency table resulting from the cross-classification of students on the basis of criterion-referenced test results and instructionally related variables is presented. Third, the intersection of log-linear models and item parameter estimation procedures under latent trait theory are shown. The illustrative examples in each of these areas suggest that log-linear models can be a versatile and useful data analysis technique in a measurement context.Baker, Frank B.; Subkoviak, Michael J.. (1981). Analysis of test results via log-linear models. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/100423