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Introduction: Thriving from Work is defined as the state of positive mental, physical, and social functioning in which workers' experiences of their work and working conditions enable them to thrive in their overall lives, contributing to their ability to achieve their full potential at work, at home, and in the community. The purpose of this study was to develop a psychometrically‐sound questionnaire measuring the positive contribution that work can have on one's well‐being both at, and outside of, their work. Methods: We used both a qualitative and quantitative approach of item reduction, domain mapping dimensionality testing, development of "long‐" and "short‐" versions of the questionnaire, reliability, and construct and criterion validity testing. This was established in two independent online samples of US based workers (n = 1550, n = 500). Results: We developed a bi‐factor model 30‐item long‐form and a uni‐factorial 8‐item short‐version. The long‐form measures both the latent construct of Thriving from Work and six domains (psychological/emotional; work‐life integration; social; experience of work; basic needs; health). Both long‐ and short‐ forms were found to have high empirical reliability (0.93 and 0.87 respectively). The short‐form captures 94% of variance of the long‐form. Construct and criterion validity were supported. Test‐retest reliability was high. Conclusions: The Thriving from Work Questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable measure of work‐related well‐being in United States workers. Further testing is needed to refine and test the instrument in specific industries, unique worker populations, and across geographic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Validity of performance standards is a key element for the defensibility of standard setting results, and validating performance standards requires collecting multiple pieces of evidence at every step during the standard setting process. This study employs a statistical procedure, latent class analysis, to set performance standards and compares latent class analysis results with previously established performance standards via the modified‐Angoff method for cross‐validation. The context of the study is an operational large‐scale science assessment administered in one of the southern states in the United States. Results show that the number of classes that emerged in the latent class analysis concurs with the number of existing performance levels. In addition, there is a substantial level of agreement between latent class analysis results and modified‐Angoff method in terms of classifying students into the same performance levels. Overall, the findings establish evidence for the validity of the performance standards identified via the modified‐Angoff method. Practical implications of the study findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study draws on Fiske's stereotype content model (SCM) to understand the complexities and latent dimensions of racial outgroup attitudes in the United States. Methods: Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, we conduct a series of exploratory factor analyses to identify factorial structures of racial attitudes toward different ethnoracial groups and further establish the construct validity of identified dimensions by observing their association with a theoretically related concept, individualistic blame toward racial outgroups. Results: We identify a robust three‐factor solution that we label competence, warmth, and socioeconomic standing, the last of which is distinct from Fiske's SCM. We find that the dimensions of competence and socioeconomic standing are closely related to respondents' individualistic attitudes toward their racial outgroups. Conclusion: Given the robustness and significance of the dimension of socioeconomic standing, we suggest employing our three dimensions to better conceptualize racial stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: An online bladder health survey was administered to national registry volunteers to: (1) determine the feasibility of using ResearchMatch for studying lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS); (2) pilot the new, comprehensive Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network Symptom Index‐29 (LURN‐SI‐29) and determine its ability to detect known associations with LUTS; and (3) explore novel areas of bladder health in community‐based women. Methods: A cross‐sectional web‐based survey was administered to a random sample of ResearchMatch adult female, transgender and non‐binary volunteers. Participant demographics, health characteristics, the LURN‐SI‐29, and LUTS‐related experiences were collected. Results: A total of 1725 ReseachMatch volunteers with a mean age of 44.0 years completed the study and were eligible for the analysis. Participants were primarily white, cisgendered, highly educated, nulliparous, and premenopausal. The median LURN‐SI‐29 score was 17 (interquartile range: 11–26). More than half the sample reported urinary urgency (71.0%), nocturia (65.7%), and stress incontinence (52.3%) a "few times" or more in the last 7 days. Approximately half reported sensation of incomplete bladder emptying (49.6%) with one‐third reporting urgency incontinence (37.6%); notably, 52.6% of respondents reported being at least "somewhat" bothered by LUTS. LURN‐SI‐29 scores increased with age, body mass index, decrements in self‐reported health, medical comorbidity, parity, menopausal status, and urinary symptom bother, providing evidence of convergent validity. LURN‐SI‐29 scores varied by race and education, with the lowest scores in Asian and highly educated women. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence and spectrum of LUTS in an online research registry of women volunteers were high and comparable to other population‐based samples. The new LURN‐SI‐29 demonstrated its ability to detect expected associations with demographic and health characteristics in a nonclinical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counseling researchers and practitioners use screening tools and assessments to measure, treat, and improve their clients' overall (mental and physical) wellness, which creates a need for screening tools that appraise overall wellness. The author of this study first tested the convergent validity of scores on the Lifestyle Practices and Health Consciousness Inventory (LPHCI), a screening tool for simultaneously appraising global wellness (mental and physical) using a large (N = 796) national stratified random sample of adults living in all 50 of the United States. The author then investigated the capacity of global wellness for predicting symptoms of anxiety and depression and explored demographic differences in global wellness. Findings support the convergent validity of scores on the LPHCI and reveal that global wellness is a significant negative predictor of the symptomology of mental and physical distress. Implications for the potential utility of incorporating global wellness into counseling practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The FACE‐Q, a validated, modular patient‐reported outcome measure with global uptake, currently does not have a scale to measure the appearance of the temples. Objectives of our study were to develop a new FACE‐Q scale for appearance of temples and assess content validity of two existing FACE‐Q scales in the context of temple hollowing: Satisfaction with Facial Appearance and Psychological Function. Methods: A heterogeneous sample of adults who were seeking or had received treatments for temple hollowing was recruited from three outpatient clinics in the United States. Semi‐structured interviews using an interpretive description approach were completed to elicit concepts and generate an item pool and assess content validity of the two existing FACE‐Q scales. The item pool data were used to develop preliminary Temple scale, which was refined based on patient and expert feedback. Results: Participants (N = 15, 55 ± 9 years) described a range of esthetic concerns related to temple hollowing and its treatment. The data were used to draft the FACE‐Q Satisfaction with Temples scale, which was refined through input from patients (N = 12) and clinicians (N = 5), resulting in a 16‐item FACE‐Q Satisfaction with Temples scale. The scale covers concepts of fullness, harmony, scenarios (eg, mirror, bright lights), age, and shape. Content validity of the two existing FACE‐Q scales was substantiated. Conclusion: The FACE‐Q Satisfaction with Temples scale fills an important gap in patient‐reported outcome measurement in facial esthetics. The scale will be field‐tested to finalize content and develop the scoring algorithm prior to implementation in clinical practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Psychache has been proposed to cause suicide when it becomes unbearable. However, existing measures of psychache do not directly target unbearable psychache. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to provide initial validation for a brief measure of unbearable psychache.Method: Three items were selected to create the Unbearable Psychache Scale (UP3). Psychometric properties were assessed in two populations: (1) an online sample composed of 1,006 adults (53% male) from various locations in the United States and (2) a sample of 190 psychiatric inpatient adults (47% male) from a hospital in Western Canada.Results: In both samples, the UP3 demonstrated excellent internal reliability, and strong convergent and predictive validity. Additionally, the UP3 predicted significant variance in suicidal ideation over and above documented correlates of suicidal ideation including general psychache, hopelessness, perceived burdensomeness, and low belongingness.Conclusions: The UP3 is a brief, psychometrically sound measure of unbearable psychache that may be well-suited for use in research protocols and clinical assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document that the positive (opposite) Monday or early‐in‐the‐week effect in Fama–French's robust‐minus‐weak (RMW) factor, first reported by Ülkü (2017), is pervasive across international markets, ruling out data‐snooping. As in the United States, the pattern has strengthened over time. Monday effect in RMW is linked to a combination of institutional investor trading pattern and the weekend sound‐mind effect. We devise a test of the external validity of the weekend sound‐mind effect hypothesis: the short‐term reversal factor, which is profitable within its holding period but leads to larger losses subsequently, exhibits a significant negative Monday effect, as predicted by this hypothesis. Mondays buck fads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was conducted to estimate prevalence rates and factors associated with depressive symptoms indexed by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D-10) score in a large sample of community-dwelling healthy older adults from Australia and the United States. Convergent and divergent validity of the CES-D-10 were also examined.Methods: A total of 19 114 individuals aged greater than or equal to 65 years old were enrolled from a primary prevention clinical trial. Depressive symptoms were classified using the CES-D-10 score greater than or equal to 8 and greater than or equal to 10. Gender-specific prevalence for subgroups according to sociodemographic characteristics were reported, and factors associated with depressive symptoms were estimated.Results: The overall prevalence rates of depressive symptoms were 9.8%, 95% CI, 8.5-11.2 and 5.0%, 95% CI, 4.0-6.0, according to the CES-D-10 score greater than or equal to 8 and greater than or equal to 10, respectively. Depressive symptoms were more common in women, individuals with less than 12 years of education, those living alone or in a residential care, ethnic minorities, current smokers, and former alcohol users. Convergent and divergent validities of the CES-D-10 were confirmed by observing strong negative association with the SF-12 mental health component and a modest negative association with SF-12 physical component, respectively.Conclusions: This study reports the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Australian and US community-dwelling healthy older populations. These findings emphasize the high burden of the condition and factors associated with depressive symptoms, to better inform clinicians and help with early detection and treatment of depression in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this comment (reply) is to point out that Kopecky's argument is based upon a very restrictive interpretation of what it means to impose FRS reserve requirements on nonmember banks and to defend the validity of my test method. Section I presents the most important elements of Kopecky's model (slightly modified by me)—the model which he employs in arguing against my test method. Section II points out the critical assumption upon which Kopecky's argument rests and explains why my test method is valid. Section III contains some final remarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Inappropriate use of analgesic drugs has become increasingly pervasive over the past decade. Currently, drug abuse potential is primarily assessed post-marketing; no validated tools are available to assess this potential in phase II and III clinical trials. This paper describes the development and feasibility testing of a Misuse, Abuse, and Diversion Drug Event Reporting System (MADDERS), which aims to identify potentially abuse-related events and classify them according to a recently developed classification scheme, allowing the quantification of these events in clinical trials.Methods: The system was initially conceived and designed with input from experts and patients, followed by field-testing to assess its feasibility and content validity in both completed and ongoing clinical trials.Results: The results suggest that MADDERS is a feasible system with initial validity. It showed higher rates of the triggering events in subjects taking medications with known abuse potential than in patients taking medications without abuse potential. Additionally, experts agreed on the classification of most abuse-related events in MADDERS.Discussion and Conclusions: MADDERS is a new systematic approach to collect information on potentially abuse-related events in clinical trials and classify them. The system has demonstrated feasibility for implementation. Additional research is ongoing to further evaluate its validity.Scientific Significance: Currently, there are no validated tools to assess drug abuse potential during clinical trials. Because of its ease of implementation, its systematic approach, and its preliminary validation results, MADDERS could provide such a tool for clinical trials. (Am J Addict 2016;25:641-651). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Longitudinal integrated clerkships ( LICs) represent a model of the structural redesign of clinical education that is growing in the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa. By contrast with time-limited traditional block rotations, medical students in LICs provide comprehensive care of patients and populations in continuing learning relationships over time and across disciplines and venues. The evidence base for LICs reveals transformational professional and workforce outcomes derived from a number of small institution-specific studies. Objectives This study is the first from an international collaborative formed to study the processes and outcomes of LICs across multiple institutions in different countries. It aims to establish a baseline reference typology to inform further research in this field. Methods Data on all LIC and LIC-like programmes known to the members of the international Consortium of Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships were collected using a survey tool developed through a Delphi process and subsequently analysed. Data were collected from 54 programmes, 44 medical schools, seven countries and over 15 000 student-years of LIC-like curricula. Results Wide variation in programme length, student numbers, health care settings and principal supervision was found. Three distinct typological programme clusters were identified and named according to programme length and discipline coverage: Comprehensive LICs; Blended LICs, and LIC-like Amalgamative Clerkships. Two major approaches emerged in terms of the sizes of communities and types of clinical supervision. These referred to programmes based in smaller communities with mainly family physicians or general practitioners as clinical supervisors, and those in more urban settings in which subspecialists were more prevalent. Conclusions Three distinct LIC clusters are classified. These provide a foundational reference point for future studies on the processes and outcomes of LICs. The study also exemplifies a collaborative approach to medical education research that focuses on typology rather than on individual programme or context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fidelity monitoring is a core component for successful translation of evidence-based interventions, yet little guidance is available on developing tools to assess intervention fidelity that are valid and feasible for use in community settings. We partnered with nurses in the field to develop a fidelity monitoring instrument that would capture the essential elements of the nursing intervention that is the core of Nurse-Family Partnership, a prenatal and early childhood home visitation program. Using a grounded approach, we employed concept mapping to identify the salient behavioral characteristics associated with the program, and then, adapting Dreyfus' model of skill development, created a tool to assess nurse home visitors (NHVs) according to their stage of growth. In a pilot, the Nursing Practice Assessment (NPA) form was used to assess 188 NHVs. The average time to complete the tool was 1 hour, and skill development stage was concordant with years of NHV experience. According to surveys of supervisors and NHVs, the tool captured the essential elements of the program model. Articulating the essential elements of each skill development stage can provide a foundation for professional development for NHVs. In response to feedback, online training modules were developed prior to large-scale implementation in the field. The grounded methods used to develop the NPA enhanced its internal consistency and implementation feasibility and could be utilized by other public health nursing programs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the multiple characteristics of alignment has taken a prominent role in educational assessment and accountability systems given its attention in the No Child Left Behind legislation (NCLB). Leading to this rise in popularity, alignment methodologies that examined relationships among curriculum, academic content standards, instruction, and assessments were proposed as strategies to evaluate evidence of the intended uses and interpretations of test scores. In this article, we propose a framework for evaluating alignment studies based on similar concepts that have been recommended for standard setting (Kane). This framework provides guidance to practitioners about how to identify sources of validity evidence for an alignment study and make judgments about the strength of the evidence that may impact the interpretation of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) is used in the state of Michigan in the United States to fulfill government-mandated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. The test is used to promote and monitor achievement in English language learning in schools that receive federal NCLB funding. The goal of the project discussed here was to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of the ELPA and to see if those perceptions could meaningfully contribute to a broad concept of the test's validity. This was done by asking teachers and test administrators their views on the ELPA directly after its administration. Two hundred and sixty-seven administrators took a survey with closed and open-ended questions that aimed to tap into the consequential dimensions of test validity. An exploratory factor analysis identified five factors relating to the participants' perceptions of the ELPA. Analysis of variance results revealed that educators at schools with lower concentrations of English language learners reported significantly more problems in administering the ELPA. Three themes (the test's appropriateness, impacts, and administration) emerged from an analysis of qualitative data. This article discusses these results not only as a means of better understanding the ELPA, but also to contribute to larger-scale discussions about consequential validity and standardized tests of English language proficiency. It recommends that broadly defined validity data be used to improve large-scale assessment programs such as those mandated by NCLB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the construct validity of generic preference-weighted health-related quality of life measures in a sample of patients with a substance use disorder (SUD). Longitudinal (baseline and 6-month follow-up) data from a research study that evaluated interventions to improve linkage and engagement with SUD treatment. A central intake unit that referred patients to seven SUD treatment centers in a Midwestern US metropolitan area. A total of 495 individuals with a SUD. Participants completed two preference-weighted measures: the self-administered Quality of Well-Being scale (QWB-SA) and the standard gamble weighted Medical Outcomes Study SF-12 (SF-6D). They were also administered two clinical assessments: all seven domains of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and a symptom checklist based on the DSM-IV. Construct validity was determined via the relationships between disease-specific SUD and generic measures. In unadjusted analyses, the QWB-SA and SF-6D change scores were correlated significantly with six ASI subscale change scores, but not with employment status. In adjusted repeated-measures analyses, three of seven ASI subscale scores were significant predictors of QWB-SA and 5/7 ASI subscale scores were significant predictors of SF-6D. Abstinence and problematic use at follow-up were significant predictors of QWB-SA and SF-6D. Effect sizes ranged from 0.352 to 0.400 for abstinence and −0.484 to −0.585 for problematic use. Generic preference-weighted health-related quality of life measures show moderate to good associations with substance-use specific measures and in certain circumstances can be used in their stead. This study provides further support for the use of the Quality of Well-Being scale and Medical Outcomes Study SF-12 in clinical and economic evaluations of substance use disorder interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health surveillance has been defined as the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data regarding a health‐related event for use in public health action to reduce morbidity and mortality and to improve health. Surveillance is an essential element of public health program infrastructure. The desirable attributes of public health surveillance systems are simplicity, flexibility, data quality, acceptability, sensitivity, predictive value positive, representativeness, timeliness, and stability. However, surveillance for periodontal diseases is nearly non‐existent at state, county, or local levels in the United States. That void largely is the result of the current approach to monitoring periodontal diseases in populations, which generally requires resource‐intensive primary collection of clinical data using relatively invasive methods. One potential alternative to that approach to periodontal disease surveillance is the use of self‐reported data collected through population surveys. Seventeen identified studies have tested the validity of individual questionnaire items for their sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values positive and negative against a range of clinical operational definitions for periodontitis. No individual items seem to be robust or valid markers for clinically determined periodontitis. However, it is possible that a multivariable statistical modeling approach, which includes variables on signs, symptoms, and established risk factors, could improve the sensitivity and specificity of that approach. An example is given of a model‐based approach to public health surveillance that has been effective in quantifying the impact of a public health problem, monitoring trends between and within states, and supporting advocacy and policy development by state and local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the questions of whether employment and educational tests demonstrate either differential validity or test unfairness to Hispanic Americans relative to the majority group. Relevant data from 19 published and unpublished studies formed the basis of the review and analysis. Results for employment tests, based on a very large amount of data, indicated that differential validity occurs no more frequently than would be expected on the basis of chance plus the operation of various statistical artifacts. The frequencies of slope and intercept differences between Hispanic and majority regressions were also within the chance range. A similar pattern of results obtained for the more limited amount of data available on educational tests. Taken together, the results provide strong evidence that tests are neither differentially valid for, nor unfair to, Hispanics. These findings are consistent with the results of previous studies of test validity and fairness for blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article asserts that the security of psychological tests is the foundation of public merit systems of the U.S. Certainly public agencies wish to meet the proposed objectives of the truth-in-testing legislation. The truth-in-testing legislation threatens the very existence of public merit systems by its excessive review and release requirements which jeopardize test security. One way to avoid the apparent threat of the legislation to public merit systems is to exempt civil service examining procedures from the legislation. Another possible strategy for mitigating the threat to public merit systems is to reduce the extensive financial burdens and to eliminate the requirement for the release of tests and scoring keys after each test administration. According to the Court test validity is the touchstone of the merit system, without validity, tests would be unable to identify the best qualified applicants for government service.

The article examines the criteria used to determine the existence of unfair test discrimination for female clerical workers in the United States. In recent years there has been considerable controversy concerning the use of psychological tests for the purpose of selecting minority group members into jobs. At the center of this controversy is the concept of unfair test discrimination. J.S. Kirkpatrick, R.B. Ewen, R.B. Barrett, and R.A. Katzell have outlined two major considerations with regard to the issue of unfair test discrimination. First, they point out that a test may be differentially valid for subgroups of individuals. Second, they indicate that regardless of the validity of a test, unfair test discrimination will occur if the predicted criterion scores of one subgroup are lower than their actual criterion scores. Kirkpatrick and his coworkers found, for example, that on some occasions tests were unfair for whites but not for Negroes, while on others the reverse was true. Similarly, instances were found where unfair test discrimination existed for both Negroes and whites and occasions where the opposite situation--no unfair test discrimination for both groups--was found to exist.

The article focuses on the reliability of the use of Lawson's test of formal reasoning in the Israeli educational context so as to determine students' achievement. Investigations show the performance of Israeli students in science and mathematics and their comparison of skills in the U.S. population. A better performance of boys compared to girls and a high achievement of Israeli than the U.S. population on the Piagetian skills are revealed in the test. On the contrary, it has been observed that the study shows an inconsistent findings of the gender difference of the students using Lawson test. It is then being suggested that a further study should be made before this will be used to determine students performance and development.

The article evaluates the validity of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI Y) form through an analytic study of the administration of the tool to preservice elementary teachers in the U.S. A restricted principal components analysis with iterations was employed as the factoring technique. Results show that the modified form of the STAI Y form appears to be a reliable indicator of two different constructs, State and Trait anxiety. The replication of an earlier work in a different sample strengthens the validity of the construct. The high-interval consistency levels supports the use of the instrument with preservice elementary teachers.

The article discusses the study which aims to stimulates the validity of information exchange from the results of personnel selection and actions including reassignments, promotions, and initial selections. The study administered a battery to workers who had been on a job for a particular length of time to passed the criterion data and training period. It mentions that the U.S. Employment Service and the U.S. Department of Labor has made forms in conformity with client's copy to produce accurate and complete forms which can be used by lithographic platemaker. It adds that a battery was also administered apprentices regardless of the three-year apprenticeship served.

The article offers information related to the normative data information exchange and validity information exchange in the U.S. The article explores several job descriptions of personnel in the information exchange including personnel specialist, medical laboratory specialist, and x-ray specialist. It discusses several analysis, computations of product-mean correlation coefficients, and criterion of the normative data information exchange and validity information exchange. The article also presents related terms on the subject including pattern analysis, automotive information, and radio information.

The article discusses the information exchange validity of several firms in the U.S. It states that the criterion on the Radio Corp. of America is the supervisory ratings that transformed into standard dichotomous scores. It tells that the principal duties of the bake shop manager in the Federal Bake Shops, Inc. in Davenport, Iowa includes purchases raw materials, determines the variety of products and the quantity of the products which shall be produced each day and determines the selling prices of each product. It says that in Electronic Manufacturer, the validity coefficients and intercorrelations between predictor variables were computed and through the Wherry Test Selection Method, the multiple correlation between the selected predictor and the criterion was determined.

The article discusses the methodological study of forced-choice performance rating of the U.S. Air Force technical instructors. It states that six-kinds of forced-choice forms for rating Air Force instructors were compared under experimental conditions and under instructions to give as high score as possible. It tells that the comparisons included relative resistance to leniency effect, split-half reliability and validity. It says that the differences between experimental and operational means can be considered to indicate the amounts of leniency effect appearing under operational conditions.

The article presents a study on one administrative factor which was believed to have effect upon the survival and "success" of life insurance agents. It states that the study is also made to relate the impact of the factor to the selection procedure. It mentions that data were gathered on 1,430 agents during the year 1946 at 20 life insurance companies in Canada and the U.S. Results show that the success and survival of insurance agents is associated with selection test scores. It adds that the association of test scores with success is different with financing and need groups.

The article evaluates tools pertaining to credit control that have been used or proposed for use in the U.S. The analysis focuses on the specific attributes of tools against the institutional environment of credit in the U.S. in the 1950s. The results are not timeless nor of general applicability. Such validity that does exist will be threatened if any significant change happens in the institutional arrangements through which they choose to operate. Attention is given to central banks and banking history.

The article presents a study which compares estimates on the validity of scores based on a forced-choice scoring methods. The study gathers data to 132 entering flight students designed to identify potential voluntary withdrawals from the U.S. Naval Air Training Program. Results show that all scores are found to be related from their operational dependence, and relation between flight failure-completion criterion and scores are uniformly low. The study adds that flight failure criterion was only included to provide effectively in two criterion groups.

The article comments on performance contracts and errors in the gain scores of children in a reading program in the U.S. Performance contracts pay off on an individual-student basis. The student is to be tested, taught, and retested with a commercially published achievement test. Scores can be reported in terms of the grade equivalent. The contractor might be reimbursed for the remedial training of each student who shows at least one year's gain in grade-equivalent scores. Test experts have demonstrated that such gain scores are unreliable. According to them, the unreliability of gain scores can assure the appearance of learning even when there is no learning at all. Under some circumstances the authors' suppose that performance contracting is an appropriate remedy for a school district's reading problems. Individual student gain on a currently available standardized test should not be used as a criterion of successful learning or instruction.

The article focuses on the collaborative development of assessments for students at Western Governors University (WGU) in the U.S. The initial step of creating assessments is domain development to establish the knowledge required to complete a program. Faculty and other subject matter experts are trained on how to write assessments. They are responsible for the accuracy of its content, while the assessment personnel are responsible for the validity of the measurement provided by the exams.