Methodological Issues in Analog Acceptability Research: Are Teachers' Acceptability Ratings of Assessment Methods Influenced by Experimental Design?

Development and Refinement of a Measure for Assessing the Acceptability of Assessment Methods: The Assessment Rating Profile-Revised

This paper describes the development and psychometric properties of the Assessment Rating Profile-Revised (ARP-R), an instrument designed to evaluate the acceptability of assessment methods. First, an overview of the initial exploratory work on the original scale, the Assessment Rating Profile (APR; Kratochwill & Van Someren, 1984), is provided. Research examining the reliability and validity of the ARP is reviewed and psychometric inadequacies are highlighted. Next, the results of a study examining the psychometric properties of the revised measure are reported. The results of the study indicated that the ARP-R demonstrated good internal consistency, with coefficients ranging from .94 to .99. Test-retest reliability across 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month intervals rangedfrom .82 to .85, suggesting adequate stability over time. Confirmatory factor analytic procedures indicated a reasonable fit of the data to the proposed one-factor model, “General Assessment Acceptability.” Lastly, suggestions are made regarding use of the ARP-R in applied and research settings.

The Social Validity of Interventions for Promoting Preschool Children's Peer Interactions

This analogue study investigated the social validity of classroom interventions designed to promote peer interactions in young children. The influences of child characteristics and diagnostic labels on social validity ratings were examined, as were the relationships among three components of social validity. Forty-two preschool teachers completed a 15-item social validity scale that yielded scores pertaining to intervention goals, procedures and effects. Participants rated three types of intervention, which varied according to individuals targeted and intensity of programming procedures, with reference to one of three case descriptions of children with social interaction problems. Half the participants were provided with the child's diagnostic label. Results indicated that social validity is affected by interactions between intervention methods and child characteristics. The inclusion of diagnostic labels in the case descriptions had no effect on social validity ratings. Strong positive relationships were found among the components of social validity. Implications for the use of empirically validated interventions in inclusive preschools are discussed.

Identifying Students With Specific Learning Disabilities: School Psychologists’ Acceptability of the Discrepancy Model Versus Response to Intervention

A national sample of 496 practicing school psychologists and members of the National Association of School Psychologists were surveyed to assess levels of acceptability for the IQ-achievement (IQ-A) discrepancy model and the Response to Intervention (RTI) model as part of the identification process for students with specific learning disabilities. Significantly higher levels of acceptability were found for the RTI model. As levels of exposure to the RTI model increased, acceptability ratings for the RTI model increased and ratings for the IQ-A discrepancy model decreased. Variations in acceptability ratings for the RTI model were also found to occur in relation to school psychologists’ school setting. Specifically, school psychologists employed at middle and high schools demonstrated lower levels of acceptability for the RTI model compared with those employed at elementary and multiple settings. Implications of the study for practice and future research, as well as limitations, are discussed.

Social cognition in context: validating a cartoon-based attributional measure for urban girls

Standard approaches to the development of psychological measures emphasize the role of the research team in identifying constructs, generating and retaining items, and establishing psychometric soundness. Although there are a number of strengths associated with these methods, the resulting measures may not be culturally sensitive to minority cultural groups. In order to address this need, the authors partnered with African American inner-city 3rd- and 4th-grade girls (predominantly 9- and 10-year-olds) to design and validate a cartoon-based hostile attributional bias measure that is developmentally and culturally sensitive. This paper illustrates how a partnership-based research model can be used to design measurement tools sensitive to the ways in which developmental processes are influenced by an urban, low-income, ecological context.

Youth suicide prevention: a survey of public school superintendents' acceptability of school-based programs

From a random sample of members of the 2000-2001 membership directory of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), public school administrators' acceptability ratings of three school-based programs for the prevention of adolescent suicide were examined. A total of 210 (46%) respondents examined a description of a suicide prevention program and completed a measure designed to evaluate the acceptability of suicide prevention programs. Three suicide prevention programs were evaluated for their acceptability, and included: (a) school-wide curriculum-based programs presented to students; (b) in-service presentations to school staff; and (c) self-report screening programs for students. The results indicated that superintendents rated the staff in-service training and curriculum-based programs as significantly more acceptable than the school-wide screening program. In addition, the school-wide screening program was rated as significantly more intrusive by school psychologists than the staff in-service training or curriculum-based prevention programs. Limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.