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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 purpose of this study was to determine whether the Cooper 12 Minute Run test and Bruce Multistage Treadmill test measure the same type of cardiovascular-endurance performance when testing adult women. A second purpose was to determine whether divergent levels of habitual activity by women are reflected in the scores on each test. Four groups of habitual activity were defined and labeled as follows: non-exercisers, minimal exercisers, adequate exercisers, and more than adequate exercisers. Ten healthy women were selected as subjects in each group. Subjects ranged in age from 22 to 35 years and were within the normal weight range according to standard tables. Each subject was tested in accordance with the appropriate protocol on the Bruce test and on the 12 Minute Run test. When individual scores for the two tests were correlated the data seemed to indicate that they were comparable measures of cardiovascular endurance performance. (r = 0.9097) An analysis of variance among group scores was performed for each test and highly significant F ratios were obtained. (F = 24.07 Bruce; F = 20.77 12 Minute Run) The most likely reason for the differences was seen as the divergent levels of habitual activity in each group. Contrasting tests were performed among groups and various combinations of groups. All test comparisons reached significance except for the one contrasting the 12 Minute Run scores of the two groups with the lowest activity levels. It was concluded that for the population of women at various levels of habitual activity who are represented by the selected sample in this study: the Bruce Multistage Treadmill test and the Cooper 12 Minute Run test measure largely the same type of cardiovascular endurance performance and that each test appears to adequately discriminate among women of divergent levels of habitual activity except at the lowest levels.

The purpose of this study was to discover if predictive variables could be identified to assist manpower programs with decisions concerning trainee program assignment. The primary problem explored was: What is the relationship between selected trainee characteristics, specific vocational assessment procedures and successful outcomes in a CETA skills training center? The research concentrated on demographic variables of age, sex, ethnic group membership, education and family status, as well as scores on three sp~cific assessment procedures: academic tests, work samples, and a work behavior rating instrument. The study involved a sample of 137 subjects who had completed a vocational assessment experience, had enrolled in one of four vocational classes, and had been terminated, either successfully or unsuccessfully, from a skills training program at the Northern Virginia CETA Skill Center during fiscal year 1981-82. Demographic and test data were analyzed by means of a discriminate analysis program in an effort to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful trainee termination. The results of the study indicated that for each of the three assessment techniques tested: (1) Academic Tests, (2) Work Samples, and (3) Work Related Behavioral Observations, several significant variables were identified. Results of the discriminant analysis were astonishingly h:i.gh and appear to demonstrate that statistical relationships can be proven to exist between certain trainee characteristics, assessment procedures and training outcomes. When the discriminant analysis using the various demographic variables, scores on the work behavior rating instrument, academic tests and work samples were performed, the results were impressive. The discriminant analysis yielded predictive accuracies of 81%-100% for successful and unsuccessful terminatins in three training area. Thus it would appear that the specific demographic variables highlighted by the three assessment techniques employed at the Northern Virginia CETA Program are valuable indicators of trainee outcome. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of test length on the estimation of functional reading ability levels and mastery/nonmastery classifications of ninth grade students in the state of Maryland with short-form tests. developed by using the oneparameter item response model. Using the i tern responses of approximately 36,000 students to 75 items on a functional reading test, item parameters were estimated with the one-parameter i tern response model. Three nonoverlapping short-form tests of 10, 20, and 30 i terns were developed using i terns targeted at the cut-score of the test. The study investigated the extent to which estimates of pupil functional reading ability levels and mastery/nonmastery classifications obtained from three short-form tests were the same as or related to those obtained on the original 75-item test. Three nonoverlapping samples of 5,000 students each were used to make the comparisons. The extent to which estimates of pupil performance on the short-form measures were the same as that on the original tests was analyzed using a m ul ti-variate analysis of variance design. The results showed that the ability estimates obtained on each of the short-form tests differed significantly (p(.000) from that obtained on the original test. The differences were, however, trivial, measuring less than .06 of the standard deviation of the shorter test. Pearson's product moment correlation coefficients obtained in this study were, on average, .80, .89, and .94 between the original test (75 items) and the 10-, 20-, and 30-item tests, respectively. Analysis of the mastery/nonmastery classifications resulted in observed indices of agreement be tween the short- and long-form tests ranging from .82 for the 10-item test to .91 for the 30-item test. Kappa indices of agreement between the the short- and long-form measures ranged from .64 for the 10-item test to .81 for the 30-item test. The study concluded that there is a relationship be tween test length and estimation of pupil functional reading ability and student mastery/nonmastery classifications. It is proposed, however, that a substantial reduction in testing time and student testing burden can be realized by using short-form tests developed and administered in a manner described in the study. / Doctor of Education

The present study was designed to empirically validate six theoretically derived cognitive domains (verbal memory, visual memory, working memory, attention-concentration, executive functions, and visuospatial abilities) assessed by a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests used in the Geriatric Memory Clinic at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The study examined the extent to which various cognitive dimensions are tapped by this battery in a heterogeneous geriatric sample of 114 patients with cognitive impairments. The proposed six-factor model of cognitive functioning has not been supported. Further exploratory factor analysis arrived at a five-factor solution. Factor pattern of the 23 tests supported the following five dimensions: memory, executive control, attention, visuospatial abilities, and cognitive flexibility.

Malingering is the deliberate production of feigned symptoms by a person seeking external gain such as: financial compensation, exemption from duty, or leniency from the criminal justice system. The Test Translation and Adaptation Guidelines developed by the International Test Commission (ITC) specify that only tests which have been formally translated into another language and validated should be available for use in clinical practice. Thus, the current study evaluated the psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS). Using a simulation design with 80 Spanish-speaking Hispanic American outpatients, the Spanish SIRS was produced reliable results with small standard errors of measurement (SEM). Regarding discriminant validity, very large effect sizes (mean Cohen's d = 2.00) were observed between feigners and honest responders for the SIRS primary scales. Research limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

The purposes of this study were to ascertain and categorize the benefits of GED graduation as reported by recent Indiana GED graduates, and to produce a report on these benefits for local adult educators to use in their ongoing counseling and teaching of current and future Indiana adult learners who are preparing to take the GED tests. An additional purpose was to provide demographic data on the population being studied to local, state, and national systems which can benefit from having research data on what types of individuals tend to use TV to prepare for GED tests.Data collection involved the administration of a sixty-five item questionnaire developed for the study, utilizing questionnaire items from three previous studies of GED benefits conducted in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The questionnaire was mailed to 1,172 GED recipients who received their credentials during 1990-91 school year through the GED ON TV Program administered by the LEARN AT HOME Division of the Muncie Community Schools Adult Education Department. Responses were received from 294 respondents to the initial and follow-up mailings, which accounted for an adjusted response rate of 30.3%. The average age of the respondents was 44.6 years. The respondents were 81.6% female and 91.5% Caucasian-American.Analysis of the data was performed utilizing simple descriptive statistics, including frequency distributions and means, to determine demographic characteristics and benefits perceived by the population. Benefits were empirically reduced by factor analysis, utilizing oblique rotation, into smaller groups of factors of benefit.The findings indicated that there were significant benefits, both tangible and intangible, to be attained by successfully passing the GED Test. The tangible benefits were further education, self-improvement, occupational advancement, and GED participation of others. The intangible benefits were empowerment, improved self-image, higher aspirations, and personal satisfaction. Although the findings of this study confirmed many of the findings of previous studies of GED graduates in other geographical areas of the United States, three types of benefits were newly identified: self-improvement, empowerment, and personal satisfaction. / Department of Educational Leadership

M.A. / The Myers Briggs Type® Indicator is a personality assessment instrument, which is based on the ideas of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, and was developed by a mother-daughter team. Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Briggs dedicated their lives to type watching and perfecting their instrument. The notion of type became a focal point in the lives of these two women but especially Isabel Briggs Myers whose wish was that people recognise and understand their own, as well as others' uniqueness. By appreciating each other's "gifts", it was her deepest desire that people would be happy and effective in what they did. The MBTI® is used extensively throughout the world in many fields such as education, career guidance, family therapy, conflict resolutions in the business world, team-building etc. In South Africa the MBTI® is relatively new but has secured a very strong position amongst therapists, counselors, educationalists and business. With the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, opportunities were open to all race groups. The South African society is both complex and diverse, bringing with it difficulties in adaptation, making sound career choices and developing mature career identities. The loss of opportunity and exposure during the apartheid era has created contradictions and uncertainty for many young black adolescents who must make career choices. In completing the MBTI® and the SDS questionnaires it is hoped that the young adolescent will have a better understanding of him or herself and that he or she would be guided in making sound career choices that will lead to a fuller and satisfying life. The purpose of this study is to validate the MBTI® in the context of career guidance against the Self-Directed Search; an instrument developed by John Holland as a means of operationalising his theory of Careers. There were 125 subjects in this research sample who were chosen from a group of predominantly black school children who came from a disadvantaged background and who were recognised as having the potential for tertiary education, specifically at university level. The study discusses the findings of the MBTI® types and SDS. The results are elaborated in terms of the influence of other possible variables.

Subjects were 32 computer programmers employed in a large computerized tax-processing company in the Southwest. Ratings of each programmer's job performance by his/her immediate supervisor and scores on the Aptitude Test for Programmer Personnel (ATPP) were obtained. Relationships between test scores and criteria were examined to identify significant (p < .05) correlations. Statistical treatment of data included zero-order Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple linear regression, and first-order semi-partial correlation analyses. Results indicated that the ATPP did not successfully predict (2 >.05) the rated performance of the programmers.