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The Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) provides a multi-rater assessment of child social behaviors that influence the development of social competence and adaptive functioning. This study examined whether the items on the teacher version of the SSRS provide reasonable indicators of the three first-order social skills dimensions proposed by the authors. In addition, multi-group methods of confirmatory factor analysis were used to investigate the invariance of factor loadings across ethnicity and gender. Results support the presence of three factors that were invariant for White and non-White groups and nearly invariant for boys and girls. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Standardized rating scales are the most often used part of the multidimensional assessment of children's behavior. However, low cross-informant correlations raise concerns about the reliability and validity of the resulting scores. This study examined whether the manner in which behavioral constructs are measured differs across informants, across time, and across child gender for the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 4-18 (CBCL/4-8) and the Teacher Response Form (TRF). Measurement models using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis were examined for child behavior ratings obtained, for the same child, at 54 months and first grade from mothers, fathers, and teachers. Model contracts were also evaluated to determine whether the measurement of behavioral problems was different for boys and girls. This study involved approximately 700 children from the prospective, longitudinal database of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The general form and factor loadings of the CBCL 4-18 and TRF were invariant across mothers, fathers, and teachers and held regardless of the target child's gender. These results suggest that the low correlations between parent and teacher ratings of behavior problems appear more likely to results from differences in situation-specific behavior than from the manner in which they are measured. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

This study investigated the differential validity of the Wide Range Intelligence Test, which is a new, brief measure of ability. Participants (N = 744) ranged in age from 5 through 85 years (M = 26.7 years, SD = 21.4 years) and varied by the demographic variables of gender, race/ethnicity (Anglo, African American, Hispanic), and education level (less than high school degree, high school degree, some postsecondary training, college and beyond). General, Verbal, and Visual IQs from the WRIT were used to predict Reading, Mathematics, and Spelling criteria on the Wide Range Achievement Test-Third Edition. Differences in prediction were evaluated among demographic subgroups via Potthoff's technique. Of the 90 simultaneous tests, 65 revealed no statistically significant between-group differences. The majority of statistically significant differences were found to have little practical influence when measures of effect size were considered. Results are discussed in the context of other ability measures that were previously investigated for differential validity, as well as educational implications for clinicians. (Contains 5 tables.)

Measures of cognitive ability have a rich history of accounting for meaningful levels of achievement variance. In contrast to other student characteristics, however, they are somewhat limited in terms of their intervention relevance and treatment validity. Alternatively, children's observable learning behaviors are believed to enhance both treatment validity and the predictions afforded by cognitive ability. This study examined student learning behaviors in the context of cognitive ability and academic achievement. Three structural models were evaluated on a sample of 1304 students ranging in age from 6 to 17 years. Results supported the unique relationship between learning behavior and academic achievement, beyond cognitive ability. Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that these findings were invariant across groups differing by gender and ethnicity. These findings are consistent with previous observations that children's behavioral features in learning situations will supplement the outcome-oriented standardized tests of cognitive ability.

Six core profiles were identified on four fluid reasoning to comprehension knowledge constructs previously found to be both theoretically and empirically linked to children's reading acquisition: auditory processing, crystallized ability, processing speed, and short-term memory. Cluster analysis was used to develop this taxonomy and the six-cluster solution was supported through cross-validation. (Author/VWL)

A study involving 1,097 2-year-olds examined whether the items located on the Child Behavior Checklist/1-5 would provide reasonable indicators of the seven first-order behavioral dimensions purportedly measured by this instrument. Results support the presence of six factors: somatic complaints, withdrawn, attention problems, aggressive behaviors, sleep problems, and emotionally reactive/anxious depressed. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Identifies the structure and composition of profile types most representative of the 2,200 children comprising the normative sample for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Third Edition. Provides a case example using the method recommended for "everyday" decision making. (Author/MKA)

Evaluates the criterion-related validity of unusual subtest profiles from the Differential Ability Scales. Participants were a large cohort stratified in proportion to United States Census data. Children with unusual profiles were identified and matched to controls. Two groups were compared across a variety of criteria. No group differences were found across the criteria regardless of the method used to identify unusual subtest profiles. (Author/JDM)

Two nested structural models are developed to determine whether test-session behaviors affect the manner in which intelligence is measured or influence the constructs being measured. Results indicate that test-session behaviors play a larger role influencing the mechanisms of measurement than on the constructs of intelligence. (Author/EMK)

Whether the measurement of intelligence by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC-III) differs for children who exhibit inappropriate test-taking behavior was studied empirically with 247 inappropriate behavior and 515 appropriate behavior children. Results suggest that the factor index and full-scale IQ may have different meanings for these two groups. (SLD)

Assessing model fit is a key component of structural equation modeling (SEM); however, measures of fit in Bayesian SEM remain limited. Recently, versions of frequentist fit indices have been adapted for use in Bayesian models, but the impact of prior information on these fit indices remains unknown. This simulation study investigates the performance of three fit indices (RMSEA, CFI, and TLI) in Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) across a variety of prior specifications that included different degrees of informativeness and inaccuracy. Results show that Bayesian fit indices are impacted by prior choice, particularly when sample sizes are small. We discuss implications of assessing model fit with Bayesian fit indices and provide recommendations for applied researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares various base-rate procedures with statistical-significance testing approach used by psychologists. Nonlinear multivariate method is used to determine whether children with a learning disability or emotional disturbance are more likely to show unusual subtest patterns than are children from the normative sample of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition. (Author/JDM)

This study developed a normative core profile taxonomy of the four scholastic aptitude and corresponding achievement scales of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (Revised). Cluster analysis was used to sort 2,620 students from the standardization sample. Results of internal and external validity analyses provided support for eight core profiles. Results suggest methods of evaluating students for learning disabilities. (Author/DB)

Latent variable models analogous to those developed by L. J. Williams, M. B. Gavin, and M. L. Williams (1996) were used to investigate the measurement and nonmeasurement relationships of negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA) with the Job Diagnostic Survey scales. Reanalyses performed on data collected as part of an organizational assessment of nonfaculty university employees (N = 644) showed NA and PA to have weak measurement and substantive relationships with the job characteristics and affective outcomes scales. The relationships between job characteristics and job outcomes were not associated with NA. However, PA showed a weak association with these relationships. Implications for future research on affectivity's roles as substantive and methodological variables in organizational assessment are discussed.

Student attitudes toward aggression have been linked to individual aggressive behavior, but the relationship between school-wide normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior poses some important measurement challenges that have not been adequately examined. The current study investigated the factor structure, measurement invariance, and criterion-related validity of a six-item Aggressive Attitudes scale using a large sample of seventh- and eighth-grade students (n = 39,364) from 423 schools. Analytic procedures accounted for the frequently ignored modeling problems of clustered and ordinal data to provide more reliable and accurate model estimates and standard errors. The resulting second-order factor structure of the Aggressive Attitudes scale demonstrated measurement invariance across gender, grade, and race/ethnicity groups. Criterion-related validity was supported with eight student- and school-level indices of aggressive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies examined developmental memory testconsistency and base-rate variability on the Wide Range Assessment of Memoryand Learning (WRAML) using three age cohorts from the standardization sample.Study 1 examined inter-subtest correlation coefficients across the nine subtestsof the WRAML and compared across three age cohorts (5, 11, 16 to 17 year olds).An age-related increase in inter-task consistency was found (mean r = .26 and .42 for the youngest and oldest age groups, respectively). However,correlation coefficients were generally in the low to moderate range ( rs = .2 to .5) for all three cohorts suggesting considerableperformance variability across memory subtests. Study 2 examined base-ratevariability in the WRAML standardization sample using several different methods.More specifically, base-rate information is provided for the maximum discrepancybetween subtests, profile strengths and weakness (i.e., discrepancies fromthe mean scaled score), and the prevalence of individuals within the “deficient”performance range (i.e., < = 2 SD below normativemeans). In addition, performance variability across the four WRAML index scoreswas examined by determining the prevalence rates for the maximum discrepancy(1) between index scores, and (2) from the General Memory Index compared tothe other three index scores. Performance discrepancies tended to be higheramong the youngest group. Again, however, considerable performance variabilitywas observed across all three age cohorts. Implications for clinical practiceare discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]