A questionnaire concerning attitudes toward the importance of communication skills and toward different modes of communication was administered to 290 incoming freshmen at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Students responded to one of two types of a 38-item questionnaire: a multiple choice, or Likert-type (strongly agree...strongly disagree) format. Factor scales and subscales underlying the questionnaire items were developed; T-tests were conducted for each of the twelve subscales by response format, to examine mean difference due to format. Group discriminant analyses were also conducted, to determine if format could be predicted by subscale score. Finally, multiple regression analyses were performed for each format, using the four importance-of-skills subscales as predictors, and the desire-for-more-training and perceived-skill scales as the criterion. T-test, discriminant, and reliability analyses revealed no significant differences between the two response formats, although there were slight advantages for subscales of the Likert format. The Likert format was more advantageous, according to regression analysis, in predicting most of the subscales. It was also noted that students completed Likert scales in one-third to one-half the time required for multiple choice tests. (Both forms are appended) (GDC)