Gary Skaggs

Development of the School Counselor Self-Efficacy Scale

Abstract This article describes the development and psychometric properties of scores from the 4 3-item School Counselor Self-Efficacy (SCSE) Scale Self-efficacy, according to social cognitive theory. is a mediating factor in performance. Practicing school counselors and master s-level students completed the SCSE. Factor structure, construct validity, and internal consistency are reported.

Relationships between Implementing Character Education, Student Behavior, and Student Achievement.

Over a 4-year period, researchers measured several outcomes in 5 school districts initiating or enhancing character education programs. Based on student, teacher, and administrator surveys, there was a noticeable improvement in character-related behavior. In certain districts, suspension and drop-out rates also decreased after the implementation of the character education programs; however, the relationship between these behavioral indicators and character education was inconclusive. Character education programming had little impact on student achievement, perhaps because of the lack of a direct relationship between character education goals and student achievement goals. In addition, the research examined the relationship between the implementation level of the program within the school and the measured outcomes. As expected, schools with more fully-implemented programs experienced a greater improvement in perceived character-driven behavior and lower suspension rates than schools with less well-implemented programs. The highest degree of implementation in schools resulted when personnel at those schools embraced the program as their own. This underlined the necessity for gaining community and staff support for the implementation of a character education program.

Effect of Examinee Ability on Test Equating Invariance.

Previous research on the application of IRT method ology to vertical test equating has demonstrated con flicting results about the degree of invariance shown by these methods with respect to examinee ability. The purpose of this study was to examine IRT equating invariance by simulating the vertical equating of two tests under varying conditions. Rasch, three-parame ter, and equipercentile equating methods were com pared. Six equating cases, using different sets of item parameters, were replicated based on examinee sam ples of low, medium, or high ability or where ability was matched to the difficulty level of the test. The re sults showed that all three methods were reasonably invariant to examinee ability level under all conditions imposed. This suggests that multidimensionality is likely to be the cause of the lack of invariance found in real datasets. Index terms: Examinee ability; In variance in item response theory; Item response the ory, equating; Item response theory, invariance; Test equating; Vertical equating.

A Comparison of Pseudo-Bayesian and Joint Maximum Likelihood Procedures for Estimating Item Parameters in the Three-Parameter IRT Model

This study compared pseudo-Bayesian and joint maximum likelihood procedures for estimating item parameters for the three-parameter logistic model in item response theory. Two programs, ASCAL and LOGIST, which employ the two methods were com pared using data simulated from a three-parameter model. Item responses were generated for sample sizes of 2,000 and 500, test lengths of 35 and 15, and examin ees of high, medium, and low ability. The results showed that the item characteristic curves estimated by the two methods were more similar to each other than to the generated item characteristic curves. Pseudo- Bayesian estimation consistently produced more accu rate item parameter estimates for the smaller sample size, whereas joint maximum likelihood was more ac curate as test length was reduced. Index terms: ASCAL, item response theory, joint maximum likelihood estimation, LOGIST, parameter estimation, pseudo- Bayesian estimation, three-parameter model.

Assessing the Relationship Between Differentiation and Infidelity

SUMMARY Differentiation and infidelity have been theoretically related. However, few studies have tested whether the concepts in differentiation are statistically related to infidelity. One hundred nineteen participants in the present study completed two inventories assessing their level of differentiation and engaging in infidelity. Two-step structural equation modeling is used to determine the degree to which differentiation relates to infidelity. Results indicated that, though differentiation may be part of a plausible model of infidelity behavior, there are potentially other models that may be relevant in engaging in infidelity. The findings and implications are discussed.

Reducing the Cognitive Complexity Associated With Standard Setting: A Comparison of the Single-Passage Bookmark and Yes/No Methods

Judgmental standard setting methods have been criticized for the cognitive complexity of the judgment task that panelists are asked to complete. This study compared two methods designed to reduce this complexity: the yes/no method and the single-passage bookmark method. Two mock standard setting panel meetings were convened, one for each method, using experienced third-grade teachers as panelists. The methods produced very similar cut scores and they seemed to succeed in reducing the cognitive complexity of the judgment task. There was also evidence, however, that the participants in both groups experienced a great deal of difficulty in estimating item performance for borderline students and that they may have used contextual information associated with the judgmental task to estimate their cut scores.

Alleviating Stress in Clergy Wives: Formative Evaluation of a Psychoeducational Group Intervention in Its First Implementation

Abstract The psychoeducational group Clergy Wife Wings (CWW) shows good potential in helping non-clergy women married to clergymen to move towards alleviation of ministry-related stress. Qualitative analysis of written documents from group members, leader, and observer reveals themes supporting efficacy and identifying specific strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions. Quantitative analyses of pre and post-group measures on adapted clergy-wife stress instruments do not suggest effectiveness. CWWs theoretical foundations draw from Palmer and Drydens multimodal model of stress that utilizes A. A. Lazaruss BASIC ID modalities. Methodology consists of formative evaluation of CWW in its first implementation.

Grain Size and Parameter Recovery with TIMSS and the General Diagnostic Model

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree of grain size of the attributes and the sample sizes that can support accurate parameter recovery with the General Diagnostic Model (GDM) for a large-scale international assessment. In this resampling study, bootstrap samples were obtained from the 2003 Grade 8 TIMSS in Mathematics at varying sample sizes from 500 to 4000 and grain sizes of the attributes from a unidimensional model to one with ten attributes. The results showed that the eight-attribute model was the one most consistently identified as best fitting. Parameter estimation for more than ten attributes and samples less than 500 failed. Furthermore, the precision of item parameter recovery decreased as the number of attributes measured by an item increased and sample size decreased. On the other hand, the distributions of latent classes were relatively stable across all models and sample sizes.

Coming Full Circle in Standard Setting: A Commentary on Wyse.

Full disclosure. For several years, I have taught a course in instrument development using Mark Wilson’s Constructing Measures (2005) as the textbook. Most of my students are interested in constructs such as “student engagement,” “self-efficacy for school administrators,” and “happiness.” Wilson’s book emphasizes the use of construct maps to guide the development of instruments to measure constructs such as these. And it’s a good thing. When forced to use a construct map, students often confront flaws and inconsistencies in the way they view their constructs. For those of us who have worked in measurement for some time, unidimensional construct maps are a natural way to measure latent variables. When using a construct map, the student is asked to define how someone who has more of the construct being measured differs from someone who has less of it. Many students have difficulty with this idea. They often think qualitatively about their construct, trying to place respondents into a category rather than a location on a scale, for example, “I want to find out what leadership style a school principal has.” After some time of fitting students’ idea of a construct into a construct map, they invariably come up with an instrument that measures the way we think an instrument ought to measure, that is, to estimate how much of a construct a respondent has and what that quantity means. The construct map is a particularly good way to approach instrument development, and I was delighted to read Adam Wyse’s thoughts about how to use construct maps for standard setting. For a number of popular standard-setting methods, he shows how typical feedback to panelists fits within a construct map framework. He then goes on to recommend additional types of construct map feedback that could help ameliorate concerns with specific methods. This is a major contribution to the standard-setting literature. For example, Wyse points out that panelists using the Angoff method are often given empirical item p-values, but they may not know how to use them. Research has shown that panelists are able to estimate item difficulty only to a moderate degree (Impara & Plake, 1998). Item p-values are intended to induce greater consistency by showing panelists the relative difficulties of each item, but what panelists really need is the item difficulty of borderline examinees. That said, I cannot help but wonder if standard-setting panelists will have some of the same difficulties using construct maps that my students have. In a subject area such as mathematics, there is a fairly standard sequence of instruction, and I can picture panelists being able to determine a point along this sequence where a cut-score might be set. However, even for mathematics,

Community college engineering students’ perceptions of classroom climate and fundamental engineering skills

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine community college engineering students’ perceptions of their classroom climate and how these perceptions are related to fundamental skills in engineering. The study was guided by the following research question: How are community college engineering students’ perceptions of their fundamental engineering skills related to their perceptions of classroom climate? Data from a 2009 National Science Foundation sponsored project, Prototype to Production: Processes and Conditions for Preparing the Engineer of 2020 (P2P), which contains information from students in 15 pre-engineering community college programs, were examined. Measures of classroom climate and fundamental skills related to engineering were first established through an exploratory factor analysis. In order to explore differences in student perceptions by individual characteristics and by institution, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used. Results indicated that for community college engineering students, a warmer perception of classroom climate was associated with a higher perception of fundamental engineering skills. At community colleges, class sizes are generally smaller, especially compared to introductory courses at universities, and may provide a warmer climate for students considering beginning their engineering degrees. Given the diversity within community colleges, these institutions may provide an important pathway for underrepresented groups in engineering.