SOME TECHNIQUES FOR MAXIMIZING A TEST'S VALIDITY WHEN THE CRITERION VARIABLE IS UNOBSERVED1

A set of techniques is presented for constructing a test or test battery which can be inferred to correlate as highly as possible with a hypothetical construct which is named but not measured directly. Use of the techniques requires the test constructor to describe first the nature of the construct indirectly, by estimating the relative sizes of the construct's correlations with several observable variables which the test constructor has selected. Techniques are also described for estimating the validity of a test constructed by these methods.     

A COMPARISON OF THREE METHODS FOR ESTABLISHING MINIMUM STANDARDS ON THE NATIONAL TEACHER EXAMINATIONS

Minimum standards were established for the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) area examinations in mathematics and in elementary education by independent panels of teacher educators who had been instructed in the use of either the Angoff, Nedelsky, or Jaeger procedures. Of these three procedures, only the Jaeger method requires that normative data be provided to the judges when evaluating the items. However, it was of interest to study the effect such information would have upon the standards obtained using the other two methods. Therefore, the design incorporated three sequential review sessions with the level of normative information different for each. A three-factor ANOVA revealed significant main effects for methods and sessions but not for subject area. None of the interactions was significant. The anticipated failure rates, the psychometric characteristics of the ratings, and other factors suggest that the Angoff procedure, as modified during the second session of this study, yields the most defensible standards for the NTE area examinations.     

Researching the Links between Education and Well-being

This article focuses on some of the conceptual and empirical issues relating to the links between education and well-being. Recent research has made progress in this area, despite the complexity and the limitations of available measurements and other observations. The first part discusses the ill-defined nature of education and the negative implications this has on research and policy. The second part outlines some of the major relationships that are being explored around the theme of education and well-being. This is not exhaustive but provides an overview of distinct theoretical explanations for the potential causal links. Reference is made to available evidence so as to provide an overview of what is known empirically about some of these possible explanations. The third section discusses some of the empirical limitations and challenges to building up a robust evidence base in this area.     

Follow-Up Surveys for Counselor Preparation Program Graduates and Their Employers

Ratings were obtained for item-inclusion importance for counselor preparation program follow-up surveys for program graduates and their employers. Survey elements are suggested.     

Some Curriculum Ideas for Training Public Offender Counselors

Counselor education programs that train counselors for work in corrections need to supplement their curriculum in critical content and issue areas. Correctional counselors need specialized coursework in addition to training in traditional counseling techniques. This article reviews the current curriculum areas of many counselor education master's programs that are relevant to correctional counselors, and also suggests some ideas for additional content that might expand these curriculums to better meet the needs of correctional counselors.     

Sex and Order of Counseling Effects on Paired Role-Play Practice

In this study the effects of order of counseling and sex within counseling pairs were analyzed. A total of 51 graduate students, 35 women and 16 men, from introductory counseling classes were randomly assigned, according to their sex, to two levels of sex pairing and ordinal position. Multivariate analyses of variance and analyses of variance indicated that same sex or opposite sex pairing and ordinal position did not influence performances. Women, however, produced more reflection-of-feeling responses, and their responses tended to be more accurate than those of men. Also, women in ordinal Position 2 who had male partners in Position 1 outperformed women paired with women in Position 1. Results are discussed in reference to literature on modeling, sex differences, and role-play practice.