When cognitive and educational tests are administered under time limits, tests may become speeded and this may affect the reliability and validity of the resulting test scores. Prior research has shown that time limits may create or enlarge gender gaps in cognitive and academic testing. On average, women complete fewer items than men when a test…

Anonymous questionnaires are frequently used in research with adolescents in order to obtain sincere answers about sensitive topics. Most longitudinal studies include self-generated identification codes (SGICs) to match information. Typical elements include a combination of letters and digits from personal data. However, these data may make the…

Prospective longitudinal data collection is an important way for researchers and evaluators to assess change. In school-based settings, for low-risk and/or likely-beneficial interventions or surveys, data quality and ethical standards are both arguably stronger when using a waiver of parental consent--but doing so often requires the use of…

This article is concerned with developing a measure of general academic ability (GAA) for high school graduates who apply to colleges, as well as with the identification of optimal weights of the GAA indicators in a linear combination that yields a composite score with maximal reliability and maximal predictive validity, employing the framework of…

The practice of screening students to identify behavioral and emotional risk is gaining momentum, with limited guidance regarding the frequency with which screenings should occur. Screening frequency decisions are influenced by the stability of the constructs assessed and changes in risk status over time. This study investigated the 4-year…

This study integrated Bayesian hierarchical modeling and receiver operating characteristic analysis (BROCA) to evaluate how interest strength (IS) and interest differentiation (ID) predicted low–socioeconomic status (SES) youth's interest-major congruence (IMC). Using large-scale Kuder Career Search online-assessment data, this study fit three…