The problem of this study addresses a preliminary Rasch rating scale analysis of the Brief Symptom Inventory in relation to reliability and validity. Also, this investigator will utilize information provided by the latent trait psychometric model.

The notion of learner autonomy is one of the major theoretical constructs studied in L2 learning. Drawing on Deci and Ryan's (1985) Self-Determination Theory (SDT), I sought to investigate and describe L2 learner autonomy and how an educational intervention influences it. The SDT conceptualizing human motivation for learning as existing on a continuum from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation provides ways of measuring learner autonomy and a rationale for educational interventions for developing it. First, Japanese adult EFL learners' characteristics were described in terms of learner autonomy-related psychological constructs (motivation, affect, and strategy use) according to levels of learner autonomy based on SDT. Second, the adapted VSS yielded significant effects on the participants' vocabulary learning and L2 learning anxiety (for the high and low autonomous motivation groups) and social strategy use (for the low autonomous motivation group). Third, the implementation of the adapted VSS into the adult L2 English classes was considered in terms of the development of linguistic and autonomous forms of learning quoting from the participants' quantitative and qualitative responses for this approach. / CITE/Language Arts

This study documented the psychometric development of the Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile (ALCP). The ALCP was derived from a qualitative database from the National Science Foundation project (NSF 9422368) and the academic body of literature. Test items were operationalized, and subject matter experts validated 11 macro-leadership competencies and 65 items. Rasch rating scale measurement models were applied to answer the following questions: (a) How well do the respective items of the ALCP fit the Rasch rating scale measurement model for the 11 scales of the ACLP? (b) How well do the person's abilities fit the Rasch rating scale measurement model, using the 11 scales of the ALCP? (c) What are the item separation and reliability coefficients for the 11 ALCP scales? (d) What are the person separation and reliability coefficients for the 11 ALCP scales? This study also sought to discern whether the ALCP could predict leader effectiveness as measured by the likelihood ratio index and frequency of correct predictions indices. The WINSTEPS and LIMDEP programs were used to obtain Rasch calibrations and probit estimates, respectively. The ALCP profiles the frequency and intensity of leadership behavior. Composite measures were calculated and used to predict leadership effectiveness. Results from this study validated 10 competencies and 55 items.

A new ESSA indicator of school quality and student success provides flexibility to broaden a states’ definition of school and student success. Educational research has found school success is in part determined by a school’s climate and should be considered in improvement/reform strategies (Cohen et al., 2009; Thapa et al., 2013). Yet, school climate research is often difficult and time consuming, and employs a variety of conflicting definitions and dimensions, instruments, and empirical approaches to determining school climate. Given these significant limitations with current measures, the purpose of this study was to validate an instrument measuring school climate based on the four most commonly accepted dimensions of school climate, using items adapted from a well-regarded and established theoretical framework to provide an effective measure for educators and researchers. The sample selected for this study was a portion of teachers who indicated teaching 3rd or 8th grade as their primary teaching assignment (n=500) from the larger study sample (n=4974). A Rasch Rating Scale Model was used to evaluate unidimensionality, item fit and difficulty, reliability, and potential differential item functioning on a 23-item school climate survey. Results of the study showed the instrument was not unidimensional and was split into two subdimensions: student-centered and teacher/school support. All items were retained and displayed appropriate fit. Significant differential item functioning (DIF) was found between 3rd and 8th grade teachers on both subdimensions, further suggesting multidimensionality in the scale. Study findings suggest researchers should be mindful of any school climate instrument not validated at the item level for unidimensionality, and that an instrument may perform differently for teachers at different grade levels.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to construct a holistic education school evaluation tool using Montessori Erdkinder principles, and begin the validation process of examining the proposed tool. This study addresses a vital need in the holistic education community for a school evaluation tool. The tool construction process included using Erdkinder literature to justify the development of each item through the use of an item matrix, ultimately leading to the development of the 23 item formative Montessori Erdkinder School Evaluation Survey. The validation process included a series of three Rasch Rating Scale Model analyses with data from a sample school. The validation process used item anchoring estimates from the earlier analyses in the later analyses and included determining the tool’s dimensionality, reliability, item fit, possible differential item functioning, and comparing the order of item difficulty levels to the holistic model of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Results of the study showed that six items had issues with fit and would need to be revised, and that the items in the cognitive and moral facet will need to be revised to better match Maslow’s model. This study provides the foundation for the development of a holistic education evaluation or accreditation system, and constructed a resource that could be directly implemented in schools.