Although research supports the use of measures of typical performance for assessing academic and cognitive skills, there are currently few such measures in existence. Other measures have been used for research purposes, but they are not normed on a large, nationally-representative sample. The Ratings of Everyday Academic and Cognitive Skills (REACS) was created to address the need for a measure of typical academic and cognitive skills. The goal of the REACS is to provide a timely, easy to administer, and comprehensive assessment of a child's typical functioning in various academic and cognitive domains. The purpose for this dissertation was to develop the initial scale and conduct analyses to provide evidence of its reliability and validity. In an attempt to provide preliminary evidence of the validity of scores from this measure, Parent (n = 142) and Teacher (n = 109) REACS forms were collected for data analysis. A subsample of parents and teachers completed forms to examine interrater and test-retest reliability. A group of children (n = 32) were assessed with measures of academic achievement, cognitive ability, and memory for comparison to the REACS. Results generally showed high internal consistency, yet less reliable test-retest and interrater reliability. While the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the parent scale supported a factor structure that approximated the intended structure of the REACS, a better fit was found with a simpler model for the teacher scale. Finally, both the Parent and Teacher REACS forms were found to predict academic achievement better than cognitive ability. The predictive ability of the REACS was enhanced when used in conjunction with a measure of cognitive ability.

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This dissertation examined the relationship between personality, individual values, work values and conditions of performance. The objective of this study was to determine what motivational constructs predict a smaller differential between performance outcomes under typical conditions of performance versus maximum conditions of performance. This study examined four research questions. 1) Is there a relationship between personality traits and conditions of performance? 2) Is there a relationship between individual values and conditions of performance? 3) Is there a relationship between work values and conditions of performance? 4) Which of the overall relationships are more highly correlated? Sackett et al. (1988) characterized maximum performance as evidenced when three conditions are met: 1) there must be explicit awareness that one is being evaluated, 2) there must be awareness of and acceptance of implicit or explicit instructions to maximize effort, and 3) performance must be measured over a short enough duration that the performer's attention remains focused on achieving maximum performance. Conversely, typical performance would be characterized by situations in which individuals were not cognizant of any performance evaluation, were not attempting to perform to the best of their ability, and in which performance was monitored over an extended period of time (Sackett et al., 1988). In this study, FFM personality traits of were proposed to correlate with a differential in performance outcomes between the two conditions of performance. Similarly, individual values of conformity, stimulation, hedonism, benevolence and achievement were proposed to correlate with a similar differential in performance. A specific set of work Values drawn from the Protestant Work Ethic were also proposed to correlate with a performance differential. The results of this research suggested performance outcomes do significantly vary under each performance condition, but that the results are highly correlated (.620 with p-value < .05). Individuals who perform at a superior level under conditions of typical performance also perform at a higher level under conditions of maximum performance as well. The study did not find support for the expected relationships between personality traits, individual values or work values and outcomes between conditions of typical and maximum performance.