Patricia B. Elmore

The Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics Scale: A Construct Validity Study

The purpose of the present study is to investigate evidence of the validity of Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics Scale (SATS) scores and their relationship with scores from two other measures of attitudes toward statistics, the Attitude Toward Statistics Scale (ATS) and the Statistics Attitude Survey. The pre- and postcourse responses of 342 graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in inferential statistics courses at a large midwestern university were analyzed. Internal consistency reliability estimates were greater than .90 for total scores and greater than .70 for subscale scores for all instruments. Regression analyses confirmed the importance of SATS subscale scores over and above demographic variables in a theoretical model predicting statistics course achievement. Factor analyses suggested that both the ATS and the SATS have two domains, which is contrary to the four-factor solution proposed by the developers of the SATS.

Correlational Meta-Analysis: Independent and Nonindependent Cases

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the violation of the assumption of independence when combining correlation coefficients in a meta-analysis. In this Monte Carlo simulation the following four parameters were used with the values specified: N-the sample size within a study (20, 50, 100), p-the number of predictors (1, 2, 3, 5), rho(i)-the population intercorrelation among predictors (0, .3, .7), rho(p)-the population correlation between predictors and criterion (0, .3, .7). When cnly one predictor was used or when the intercorrelation among predictors equaled zero, the assumption of independence was not violated. The assumption of independence was violated when more than one predictor with an intercorrelation exceeding zero were used. Therefore, rho(i) the index of nonindependence was the main parameter of interest. For both rs and Fishers zs, the means, medians, and standard deviations showed no discernible change over levels of rho(i) or p, but the precision of estimation of the expected values improved as N increased. The 90%, 95%, and 99% confidence intervals for both rs and Fishers zs showed no change over levels of rho(i) or p, but the intervals narrowed as N increased.

The Relationship of Reading Comprehension to Critical Thinking Skills, Cognitive Ability, and Vocabulary for a Sample of Underachieving College Freshmen.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of reading comprehension for underachieving college freshmen to their critical thinking skills, vocabulary, and cognitive ability. Three tests administered to 165 students enrolled in a remedial reading course at a large midwestern university were: (a) Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (CCTT), (b) Developing Cognitive Abilities Test (DCAT), and (c) Iowa Silent Reading Test (ISRT). Each test took only one class period and was administered by the same examiner. A multiple regression analysis was employed in which the subscale scores of (a) literal comprehension, (b) reasoning in reading, (c) evaluation and appreciation of written materials, along with scores on (d) reading comprehension, and (e) critical reading comprehension obtained from the ISRT served as criterion variables. Seven critical thinking skills measured by the subscales from the CCTT; vocabulary measured by the ISRT; verbal, quantitative, and spatial cognitive abilities measured by the DCAT; and the five verbal cognitive abilities broken down into knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis served as independent variables. The vocabulary subtest of the ISRT and all three subscales of the DCAT were important predictors of the various dimensions of reading comprehension ability.

A Model of Statistics Achievement Using Spatial Ability, Feminist Attitudes and Mathematics-Related Variables as Predictors:

Subjects for this study were graduate students enrolled in inferential statistics classes at a midwestern university. The study was conducted to determine the importance of spatial ability, attitudes toward mathematics, mathematical background, masculinity-femininity of interest pattern, attitudes toward feminist issues, student sex, and verbal and mathematical ability as predictors of achievement in applied statistics courses for male and female students. Regression analyses were performed comparing full versus restricted models. The amount of variance in statistics achievement accounted for in the full model which included all the previously mentioned sets of predictor variables was .60. The most important predictor variable set was attitudes toward feminist issues (reduction in R2 = .1861). Sex-related differences were found on all variable sets except verbal and mathematical ability.

A Construct Validation Study of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales

The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales were administered to 1541 junior high school students. To investigate the construct validity of the scales, factor analyses were performed on the responses to the 108 items comprising the scales. Additional factor analyses of the scale scores were performed, and a comparison was made with results reported by Fennema and Sherman (1976). Analysis of the items led to the interpretation of eight factors. The results generally provided empirical evidence to support the theoretical structure of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales.

A Monte Carlo Study of the Sampling Distribution of the Congruence Coefficient

The effects of sample size, number of variables, and population value of the congruence coefficient on the sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient were examined. Sample data were generated on the basis of the common factor model, and principal axes factor analyses were performed. The results indicated that when the population congruence coefficient is zero, the sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient is relatively stable and is similar to the sampling distribution of the correlation coefficient. The congruence coefficient was found to be positively biased for values of psi from .10 to .40 and negatively biased for the following values of psi: .50, .60, .90, and .99. The amount of bias (a) depends on the sample size and the number of variables used and (b) tends to decrease as sample size increases.

A Proposed Number Correct Scoring Procedure Based on Classical True-Score Theory and Multidimensional Item Response Theory

A hybrid procedure for number correct scoring is proposed. The proposed scoring procedure is based on both classical true-score theory (CTT) and multidimensional item response theory (MIRT). Specifically, the hybrid scoring procedure uses test item weights based on MIRT and the total test scores are computed based on CTT. Thus, what makes the hybrid scoring method attractive is that this method accounts for the dimensionality of the test items while test scores remain easy to compute. Further, the hybrid scoring does not require large sample sizes once the item parameters are known. Monte Carlo techniques were used to compare and contrast the proposed hybrid scoring method with three other scoring procedures. Results indicated that all scoring methods in this study generated estimated and true scores that were highly correlated. However, the hybrid scoring procedure had significantly smaller error variances between the estimated and true scores relative to the other procedures.

The Predictive Validity of the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills for Developmental Students over a Four-Year College Program.

The sample for this study included 496 students admitted to a large midwestern university through the special admissions program. Validity coefficients of the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS), the Academic Tests of the ACT Assessment Program (ACT), and high school percentile rank were calculated with cumulative grade point average (CGPA) at the end of each of four years of college. The most valid predictor of CGPA was ACT composite, although selected ACT tests and DTLS tests yielded statistically significant validity coefficients. High school percentile rank, traditionally a significant predictor in other studies, was not predictive of CGPA at any time for this sample. Regression analyses for a subset of 138 of the special admissions students remaining in college after four years showed that, after the first year in college, the DTLS tests did not make a significant contribution to academic success in college over and above that of the ACT tests and high school rank. At the end of the first year, the three DTLS tests in combination contributed over and above the ACT tests and high school rank. Also, at the end of the first year, the DTLS Vocabulary Test and DTLS Logical Relationships Test separately contributed over and above what the ACT tests, high school rank, and the other two DTLS tests did contribute.

Reporting Standards for Research Publications

Reporting standards for research Publications and ethical issues relevant to publishing research findings are presented to provide best practices for counselors, counselor educators, researchers, educators, and other mental health practitioners and for contributors to the Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation (CORE) journal. Topics include ethical issues in publishing research, reporting standards for research, validity and reliability evidence, and standards used to report reliability and validity evidence.

Mathematics: A Critical Filter for Career Choices.

Dorothy Bleyer is Director of the Division of Graphic Communications, Kathetine Pedersen is Assistant Professor of Math, and Patricia Elmore is Professor of Guidance and Educational Psychology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. Recent studies relating to women in technical careers, including the one by Alden and Seiferth in 1978, indicated that: (1) although enrollments of women and minorities in post secondary educational programs have increased dramatically in recent years, there has been no significant increase of these persons in the areas of