MEASUREMENT SCALES

Just "chugging" along!

NOTE: Here is a link to some materials on scale and test construction. For info ... Test Construction Course

What I have provided here is a collection, to which I will add, of attitudinal type scales that I or my students have worked on over the years. In some cases, the scales have been the products of a scale construction class and, in that light, are NOT tried and true and tested. I take NO responsibility for what these measure ... but I am sure you can see the gist of where we were going with the items.

In other cases, the scales are tried and true and tested and PUBLISHED ... and I provide a reference to it. To save space, I have eliminated the response scale but, in all cases, it would be of the variety of Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree.

USE OF SCALES

By all means, use any of the scales for any projects you might find them useful for UNDER THE PROVISO that you will notify me of the planned use AND any results you might get. However, if you are planning to modify the scales, I would appreciate some email note about that PRIOR to your doing that ... email to ... Dennis Roberts

LIST OF SCALES

NP = Not published

P = Published

To make it easier, you can jump to several points in the list.

  1. Usefulness of standardized measures of ability for college admissions (NP)
  2. Attitudes about relative/absolute grading (NP)
  3. Attitudes about prayer in the public schools (NP)
  4. Perceptions of cheating (P) Scale 4
  5. Statistics attitude survey (P)
  6. Attitudes about foreign language (P)
  7. Attitudes about academic freedom (NP) Scale 7
  8. Attitudes about importance of faculty research (NP)
  9. Attitudes about quality of college testing/grading (NP)
  10. Attitudes about calculators (P) Scale 10
  11. Attitudes about faculty salaries (NP)
  12. Attitudes about sex education in the public schools (NP) Sex Ed in Schools
  13. Attitudes about Post Tenure Review (NP)
  14. Attitudes about World Wide Web (NP)Scale 14
  15. Attitudes about Distance Education (NP)
Note: I have taken the pre formatting off so, the items start at various places within the set. I know it looks a little strange but ... it does allow printing NOT to cut off the right side of many of the items. Sorry for the inconvenience ...
1. ATTITUDES ABOUT STANDARDIZED MEASURES OF ABILITY FOR ADMISSION TO COLLEGE
1. A GRE score is a poor predictor of GPA in graduate school. 2. Neither SAT nor GRE tests indicate academic competence well enough. 3. For a Graduate School to avoid having a group of students with a low probability of making contributions to their field, GRE scores should be evaluated during the processing of applications. 4. When looking at past GRE scores of the most creative professionals in various academic fields, the scores can be expected to be higher than the scores of average professionals. 5. Making GRE scores a prerequisite for an application to be considered might render creative students, disliking the formalities, hesitant to apply. 6. As expected, demanding that GRE scores be submitted during application for Graduate School has been found to increase the number of applications from high aptitude applicants. 7. Since the SAT and GRE tests are a measure of academic ability, they are good for sorting out students not capable of acquiring a university degree. 8. Evaluating applicants on the basis of their SAT or GRE scores discriminates against various groups of competent applicants, for example, various minority groups and international students. 9. Too often, both SAT and GRE test scores are unreliable indices of the examinee's capacities, since those scores are obtained under various intrapersonal conditions. For example, an examinee may be tired, sick, or for some other reason, not performing optimally. 10. In the majority of cases, SAT test scores indicate who is capable of completing a university degree and who is not. 11. The complicated process of taking a GRE test discourages many highly qualified people from applying. 12. Even though an interested student might not master the items on GRE, s/he might well be capable of learning what is required in Graduate School. 13. A measure of the ability to distinguish between what is relevant and what is irrelevant is highly correlated with GRE scores. 14. SAT test scores reflect the minimal knowledge students have to master before entering college. 15. Knowing an applicant's SAT score is unnecessary, since a High School Diploma indicates students' right to attempt a college education. 16. Demanding GRE test scores makes the application procedures unnecessarily complicated for many students. 17. Since there is minimal homogeneity in the content o areas studied at any single university, it is clear that a uniform entering criteria, like a certain score on the SAT does not predict achievement in all of these areas. 18. GRE test scores are good indicators of academic competence in Graduate School. 19. Since most outstanding Graduate Schools require applicants to submit their GRE scores, not requiring GRE indicates a low quality program. 20. The SAT test is most typically taken when examinees are 16-17 years old and have no experience of academic requirements. Therefore SAT scores have limited predictability of future excellence in a University setting. 21. Where graduate programs are of excellent quality and require students to perform optimally, both when acquiring knowledge, monitoring own time and creating new solutions, GRE test scores are necessary to ensure the capabilities of the students enrolled. 22. The GRE test is a measure of fundamental knowledge necessary for acquiring additional knowledge in Graduate School. 23. Applicants, basing their choice of Graduate Schools on whether GRE is required, are not applying because of intrinsic interest in the subject matter, but rather because of superficial criteria. 24. The process of applying for and taking the GRE is similar to real life procedures that professionals with a Masters or PhD Degrees have to deal with. Not being able to plan according to deadlines associated with taking the GRE is an indicator of the person's inability to master such procedures. 25. As a first step, when evaluating applicants for a university program, the SAT and GRE tests have been found to be invaluable classification devices.
2. ATTITUDES ABOUT RELATIVE/ABSOLUTE GRADING
1. Assume that on a class test, you got the lowest score and that score was 75. Your grade should be a D. 2. On a test, a student got 81% but their score was at the 95th percentile rank. It makes more sense to give the student an A than a B. 3. When making up the grades for a test, it makes more sense to compare a student's scores to a fixed standard like 90% and up = A, 80%-89% = B, etc. than to see where the student fits into the overall test score distribution. 4. On a test, the mean number of items answered correctly was 35.6. Someone who gets a score close to 35.6 should get a C. 5. It makes more sense to assign grades based on approximate percentile rank positions in the test distribution than it does based on a predetermined percentage correct scale. 6. When grading essay responses, it is better to compare a person's response to some sample model response made up by the instructor rather than comparing student responses to other students' responses. 7. When making up a final distribution of grades for a course, you would expect fewer A's and F's, more B's and D's, and mostly C's. 8. On a syllabus for a course, the instructor states: "Grades in this course will be based on the following scale: A = 90% and above, B = 80% to 89%, C = 70% to 79%, D = 60% to 69%, F = less than 60%". This type of grading arrangement makes sense. 9. The student who gets the lowest score on a class test should receive a grade of F. 10. Some instructors convert test scores to percentile ranks. This is reasonable and therefore, grades should be based on predetermined cutoffs for these percentile ranks. 11. The only important factor to consider when making up grades is where a person stands (relative position) in the test score distribution. 12. Assume that you get a class test score of 85 and it turns out to be the highest score in the class. Your grade should be an A. 13. Assume that an inspection of the test scores shows that most students would get either D's or A's. It makes sense in this situation to rearrange the grade categories so that fewer get D's and A's with more students getting B's and C's. 14. In large classes, it is unreasonable to assign grades on a system such as: top 15% get A's, next 20% get B's, middle 30% get C's, next 20% get D's, and bottom 15% get F's. 15. Students who score at the middle or average on a test should typically be given grades of about C. 16. Assume that an instructor in a fairly large course is looking at his or her final distribution of percentage correct scores for the students, and finds that the lowest percentage is about 78. Given this, it is justifiable that there still should be some D's and F's. 17. For curiosity sake, an instructor in a large course checks on student's SAT scores and finds that the class distribution is approximately normal. This suggests that his or her final grade distribution should have more C's, fewer B's and D's, and yet fewer A's and F's. 18. It is an indefensible grading system that predetermines a grading scale based on percentage correct or percentage of total points available since, it is possible under such a system, for all students to make A's or B's. 19. A professor uses a grading method where pretests are given and grades that are assigned are based on how much change a student makes from his or her pretest score, based on a predetermined scale (30 points or more change = A, 20 to 29 point change = B, etc.). Such a system is not good since it does not determine grades based on the overall distribution of test scores and how students compare to one another. 20. Percentage correct (out of total points available) grading systems mislead people in thinking they measure some absolute amount of knowledge. But, in reality, all they really do is to order students from high to low. If that is the case, it would be better to make sure that students are spread out on the test scales, and then assign grades based on their position in the test score distribution.
3. PRAYER IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1. Organized prayer should NOT be allowed in the public schools. 2. During a designated time at school, students should be able to spend a moment to bow their heads and pray. 3. Schools should present a short prayer each day. 4. Whether or not you think it is unconstitutional, prayer in the public schools is a good idea. 5. The Constitution should be amended to allow prayer in the public schools. 6. It is NOT the proper role of public schools to have a short morning prayer in each of the classes. 7. The principle of separation of church and state, which is used as the justification for NOT having prayer in the public schools, should be applied to the school that my children go to. 8. It should be acceptable for a teacher or principal to give a short religious or moral message ending with a prayer during a school assembly. 9. A student should be able to withdraw, without sanction or punishment, from participating in any prayer given in a public school. 10. Organized prayer in the public school is an approach that violates an individual student's right to freedom of religious expression. 11. It is acceptable for public schools to let students organize prayer or religious groups and meet during their lunch hour. 12. A short NON-denominational prayer given by the principal over the loudspeaker each morning is acceptable in the public schools. 13. A short daily prayer in the public schools that rotates among religious faiths (Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, etc.) constitutes unacceptable state involvement with organized religion. 14. Public school property should not be used for religious purposes, for example, providing after-school meeting places for student religious groups. 15. Permitting prayers in schools is justified as a form of moral education.
4. PERCEPTIONS OF CHEATING
Note: This scale has a response mode ranging from 7=Expel the student from school ---> 1=Do not punish the student .. And respondents are told to assume that the occurrence in the item actually happened.

Roberts and Toombs (1992). A scale to assess perceptions of cheating in examination-related situations. The Review of Higher Education, 15(2), pp 179-190.

1. A student's calculator has some formulas and answers attached to the bottom which she uses to work out some test problems. 2. In a panic, a student copies some exam answers from another student. 3. A student accepts a copy of an upcoming exam to study from knowing that other students also have copies. 4. Two students who are whispering about some test items during an exam are warned about it by the instructor but they continue to whisper in spite of the warning. 5. In a crowded testing room, students exchange written notes about the test. 6. A student visits an instructor's office prior to a test and, while the instructor steps out, sees a copy of the test on the desk. Several items are copied down before the teacher returns. 7. An instructor asks students to turn in their test questions before leaving the testing room. One student removes his copy anyway. 8. During a test, a student copies several answers from the person beside him. 9. A student takes a look at his textbook during a closed book test. 10. Two students devise and use a method of communicating answers to each other during exams. 11. A student changes some answers on a self-graded exam so that her score looks higher than it really was. 12. A student knowingly lets a friend copy test answers from his answer sheet. 13. In a course, a student passes along confidential test items to a friend who will be taking the course next semester. 14. A student conceals information and uses it to answer questions on an exam. 15. A student deliberately misses a test and schedules a make-up exam. Before taking the make-up, the student studies a copy of the old test, something the instructor did not allow. 16. A student pays a classmate to sit in an adjacent seat and pass along answers to the test. 17. A student steals a test as a prank but does not use the test for her own benefit. However, her friends use the information and do better on the test. 18. A professor who does not return copies of the tests allows students to retake one exam. A student manages to obtain a copy of the test on which he received his lowest score, and studies it before taking the retest. 19. A student pays someone to complete her answer sheet and then turns it in to the instructor with her own name on it. 20. Noticing answer sheets face up on the professor's desk during a test, a student goes up to ask a question and purposely notes other students' answers. 21. Seeing the professor's office open and no one around, a student takes a copy of the test from the professor's desk. 22. A student pays to obtain old tests the professor does not want distributed. Because she studies from the tests, her grade on the test is better. 23. During a test, a student asks the professor questions to distract him so a friend can copy answers from another student. 24. When the instructor leaves the testing room for a few minutes, several students exchange information about the test. 25. In a large testing session with multiple forms of the test, a student arranges the tests being passed out so his neighbor will have the same form of the test. The student then copies a few answers from his neighbor. 26. During a test, a student sits near the door and has a friend stand outside and whisper information about the test so that the instructor cannot hear. 27. A student picks up and returns a dropped answer sheet during an exam. While handing it back to its owner, he notes several answers and, when rethinking his own work, changes some answers based on what he saw. 28. During a test, two friends sit next to one another and purposely drop and exchange their answer sheets in order to compare answers. 29. A student has someone else complete his take-home exam and then turns it in as his own work. 30. A student is given essay questions, several of which will appear on a test. He writes out the answers and brings them to the test. During the test, he merely transcribes the answers into his blue book.

5. STATISTICS ATTITUDE SURVEY
Roberts and Bilderback (1980). Reliability and validity of a statistics attitude survey. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 40, pp 235-238.

1. Statistics will be useful to me in my profession when I evaluate other people. 2. It takes me a long time to understand a statistical concept. 3. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of solving a statistics problem. 4. Statistics will be useful to me to test the superiority of one method over another. 5. I normally am able to solve statistics problems without too much difficulty. 6. I might use statistics at my job but wouldn't like doing it. 7. Statistics will be useful to me in evaluating the effectiveness of my professional performance. 8. I make a lot of errors when I calculate statistics problems. 9. Even before I begin a new statistics topic, I feel relatively confident that I can master it. 10. Statistics will be useful to me when I describe my professional activities to other people. 11. I am able to figure out most of the equations I need to solve a statistics problem. 12. I would like to study advanced statistics. 13. Statistics will be a useful tool that I can use to improve the reliability and validity of measures that I have developed. 14. There are so many statistical concepts to learn that I get confused. 15. The average professional would find statistics a boring subject. 16. Statistics will be a useful way to help me improve the quality of my professional performance. 17. I must constantly review statistics or I forget it. AND A PERSONAL FAVORITE OF MINE! 18. The thought of taking another statistics course makes me sick. 19. Statistics is so useful that it should be a required part of my profession's skills. 20. I find statistics to be very logical and clear. 21. Given the opportunity, I would take another statistics course even though it were not required. 22. When I solve a statistics problem, I am often not sure how to interpret the results. 23. Statistics won't be useful to me in my profession because it takes too much time to use. 24. When I solve a statistics problem, I am often unsure if I have a correct or nearly correct answer. 25. It is unreasonable to expect the average professional to master and apply statistics. 26. You should be good at math before attempting statistics. 27. Statistics may be useful to someone who plans to pursue a career in research, but not very useful to the average professional. 28. Statistics is the most difficult course I have taken. 29. The pace of a statistics course is so fast that it is impossible for the average student to learn the subject matter thoroughly. 30. Homework in statistics is harder than homework in non-math subjects. 31. Statistics is too theoretical to be of much practical use to the average professional. 32. I find it easy to explain a statistics topic to someone else. 33. An average student can expect a good grade in statistics if he/she studies.

6. ATTITUDES ABOUT FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Raymond and Roberts (1983). Development and validation of a foreign language attitude scale, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 43, pp 1239-1246.

1. I would like to live in a foreign country for awhile. 2. Being able to speak a foreign language will be helpful in keeping or finding a job. 3. I would like to be able to read newspaper or magazine articles written in other parts of the world (in the original language). 4. In it NOT necessary to learn a foreign language since most educated people in foreign countries speak English. 5. Gaining an appreciation of other cultures is one benefit of learning another language. 6. Knowing a foreign language will help me to communicate better with people in general. 7. Learning another language will be difficult for me. 8. Learning a new language is worth the effort. 9. I do not plan to take any foreign language courses beyond what is necessary for graduation. 10. Foreign language study improves my understanding of the English language. 11. Acquiring a second language broadens my general education -- makes me a well rounded person. 12. Knowing a foreign language will not be useful to me after college. 13. I would like to be able to enjoy foreign films in the original language. 14. Earning an "A" (or 4.0) in this language course is not that important to me. 15. My career may occasionally require me to speak in a foreign language. 16. Learning a foreign language will be helpful since I plan to visit other countries in the future. 17. Understanding a foreign language broadens one's understanding of world affairs. 18. Considering my other commitments (work, social, and athletic activities, study time for other classes), this language class will require too much study time. 19. I would like to have had some of the basics of a foreign language taught to me in elementary school. 20. Foreign language study is an important part of getting a college education. 21. I will not mind spending the proper amount of time studying for this language class. 22. I should be able to understand a foreign language fairly well at the completion of my foreign language course.

7. ATTITUDES ABOUT ACADEMIC FREEDOM
1. Faculty members should be able to pursue any area of research. 2. If a students does not want to read a required text because he or she finds it morally objectionable, then he or she should drop the course. 3. Students should be given options on how to fulfill the requirements for a course. 4. Students should be able to refuse to read an assigned book if they find it morally offensive. 5. Faculty should be able to teach a theory as true, even if it is decided by only a small portion of the people in that field. 6. A faculty member should be able to use data obtained from experiments in Nazi concentration camps, even if some Jewish faculty members find it objectionable. 7. If four different faculty members teach the same course, they should have the same requirements. 8. If a student in one of three sections of a course finds some of the reading material to be against his or her moral principles, the book should be removed from the reading lists of all three sections. 9. A professor should be able to voice his or her own opinion on a topic without giving equal time to opposing views. 10. A professor can require students to read books that they may find offensive if the professor thinks the book is valuable educationally. 11. To be a good teacher, you should be able to discuss all sides of an issue. 12. The purpose of a college education is to show the generally accepted point of view, not all points of view. 13. Professors should be required to remove a book from a course's reading list if one student finds it objectionable. 14. A professor should use a book if, on the whole, it suits a course, but some students find parts of it objectionable. 15. If a student in one of 3 sections of a course finds some of the reading material to go against his or her moral beliefs, he or she should be allowed to skip that material. 16. A professor should be able to organize a protest against a school policy. 17. A black student should read the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn if it is a required text even though he or she finds the use of the word nigger offensive. 18. If a majority of students agree to a change in the requirements of a course, then the change should be allowed even if some students object to it. 19. A department should be able to dictate areas of research for faculty members. 20. Any area of research should be permitted even if some members of the university community find it offensive. 21. In the classroom, professors should be able to voice opinions on controversial topics even if they are not related to course content. 22. Professors should encourage students to form their own opinions even if those opinions are not socially acceptable. 23. Some areas of research may be too controversial to be pursued by a member of the faculty. 24. It is more important for a professor to be politically correct when expressing opinions to students than to offer logical arguments for that opinion. 25. A professor should be able to participate in a protest rally. 26. Students should be able to choose from a list of books to read for a literature course if they find one of the books objectionable. 27. A faculty member should be able to express his or her opinions if interviewed for a newspaper article even if they go against college policy. 28. A professor should be able to voice his or her opinion on a topic to a class without identifying it as an opinion. 29. An attempt should be made to show all points of view on a topic in a classroom. 30. Even controversial points of view on a topic should be discussed in a classroom. 31. Faculty members should not become involved in any way with a protest rally. 32. Professors should take care not to express any controversial opinions in a classroom setting. 33. Faculty members should be allowed to pursue only those areas of research that relate directly to the goals of their departments.

8. ATTITUDES ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF FACULTY RESEARCH
1. A university should have the right to require individual professors to participate in research. 2. Universities often place too much importance on an instructor's teaching ability and too little importance on his/her research activities. 3. Professors who conduct research are usually also the best classroom teachers. 4. Participation in research should be a necessary requirement for a university professor. 5. An instructor's ability to teach is more important than his/her ability to carry out research. 6. It is NOT reasonable for a university to require its faculty members to carry out a specified amount of research. 7. It is reasonable for a faculty member who is NOT involved in any research projects to be required to teach more courses per semester than a faculty who is participating in research activities. 8. It is UNREASONABLE to assume that a professor who participates in many research projects is more valuable to his/her department than a professor who does not involve him or herself in research. 9. In general, universities place too much emphasis on research and not enough on teaching ability. 10. A professor who has an outstanding reputation as a teacher but does not participate in research should be able to advance just as rapidily as a professor of equal teaching ability who also conducts research. 11. Professors who are frequently involved in research projects spend less time preparing for the course(s) they teach than do professors who have no interest in research. 12. Level of involvement in research should be a matter of each professor's personal choice. 13. It is REASONABLE for an otherwise well-qualified individual to be denied a faulty position because of his/her lack of interest in performing research. 14. Professors heavily involved in research activities are less dedicated to their classroom teaching functions than other professors. 15. It is reasonable for an otherwise well-qualified individual to be denied tenure because of his/her lack of interest in research activities. 16. Even professors who prefer classroom teaching to performing research should be required to conduct research to keep their faculty positions. 17. Professors who do NOT participate in research projects are usually LESS respected by their (undergraduate) students. 18. Professors who do NOT involve themselves in research projects are more dedicated to their classroom teaching functions than are professors who DO participate in research activities. 19. An instructor who excels at research is a greater asset to a university than an instructor who excels at classroom teaching. 20. A professor who excels at classroom teaching but does little or no research is often less respected by his/her peers than a professor who excels at research and does little or no classroom teaching. 21. It is reasonable for universities to place a higher value on a professor's research ability than on his/her teaching ability. 22. Participation in research activities should be a requirement for faculty tenure. 23. In the evaluation of applicants for a faculty position, research ability should be given a greater consideration than teaching ability. 24. It is fair that a professor who is involved in research activities should receive larger salary increases than a professor of comparable rank and comparable teaching ability who does not participate in research. 25. When a department places great emphasis on research, undergraduate education suffers.

9. ATTITUDES ABOUT QUALITY OF COLLEGE TESTING/GRADING
1. Most college courses engage in enough assessments (tests, etc.) during the semester/term to get a good idea about what grade to give the students. 2. The comprehensive exams given to students during finals week that I have taken or seen have usually been carefully constructed. 3. The open book exams that I have taken or seen have usually been good tests. 4. The practice of curve grading, which moves the cutoffs up so more students make higher grades, is usually done in a haphazard and arbitrary way. 5. Generally, college level instructors do a good job when constructing tests for their courses. 6. Most open ended tests (like essays) I have seen or taken have been POORLY constructed. 7. Instructors who base some of students' grades on intangible factors like "effort" or "interest" or "raising hands in class" do it in an UNSYSTEMATIC and UNRELIABLE way. 8. In my experience, when essay tests are used, instructors are too easily influenced by the handwriting style of the students, rather than the content of their responses. 9. It looks like most class tests have been thrown together at the last moment. 10. Given the quality of the tests and grading methods I have encountered or seen in college courses, it seems to me that most instructors have had training in test construction and grading practices. 11. Most instructors do a good job of monitoring examinees (for possible cheating) when class tests are given. 12. Most instructors do NOT allow sufficient time to carefully work on essay tests given in class. 13. Most tests given in college courses are "too hard". 14. It is NOT likely that an instructor will change a course grade even if the student appears to have a legitimate complaint. 15. Based on my experience, it seems that instructors make too make mistakes when figuring or computing the final grades of students. 16. From the way course tests and grades are given, it appears that colleges do NOT have any standard policy about testing and grading practices. 17. In general, I feel that course grades are an accurate reflection of how well students achieve in courses. 18. In my experience in taking course, the standard and criteria set by the instructors for determining certain grades (As, Bs, etc.) Have been ambiguous. 19. Instructors in courses I have taken have NOT provided enough helpful feedback to me about how I have done on tests, projects, and other assignments. 20. In general, college tests are too easy and that does not allow the best students to rise above other students, and show just how much they have learned. 21. Too many course where group projects are required, give all the students in the same group the SAME grade. 22. In my experience, I don't think enough course instructors allow students to do "extra credit" work to improve their grades.
10. Attitudes about Calculators
Back more years ago than I want to admit, Kurt Geisinger (now a dean at SUNY Oswego ... send a hello to Kurt .. Hi Kurt!) and I developed a scale on Attitudes about Calculators, and we presented a paper at the Amer Ed Res Assoc meeting (Individual differences in calculator attitudes and performance in a statistics course, AERA annual meeting, 1978) on some results we had. I am sure this is out of date but ... here it is anyway.

1. The world would be better off if calculators had never been invented. 2. Many times I do not trust the answer the calculator gives me because it does not make sense to me. 3. My calculator confuses me more often than it helps me. 4. I am never quite sure of my answer when I use a calculator. 5. Calculators will be a great advance in the teaching of mathematics and statistics. 6. I think the calculator was a more important invention than the typewriter. 7. I (plan to) use my calculator to balance my checkbook. 8. I want my child to learn math using a calculator. 9. Calculators should only be used after a person has learned math. Learners should not have access to them during learning ... (this turned out to be a very poor item). 10. I think learning statistics is difficult enough without trying to learn how to use a calculator too. 11. I would learn statistics better if I did not have to use a calculator. 12. I trust my hand calculations more than those I get when I use a calculator. 13. Children will learn math better than we did because they will use calculators throughout their education. 14. I would encourage my parents to use calculators. 15. It is too difficult to use calculators. 16. I think instructors in statistics classes should let their students use calculators. 17. I wish I could have used a calculator in high school. 18. Everyone should know how to use a calculator. 19. If I had a friend taking a statistics course, I would encourage them to use a calculator. 20. I would consider buying a calculator for someone as a present.

11. ATTITUDES ABOUT FACULTY SALARIES
This scale focuses on whether market forces determine faculty salaries.

1. Faculty should be paid according to what are the normal salaries at other institutions for different disciplines (ie, like engineering, or business, or education). 2. University faculty should be compensated for the type of work that they do (ie, they teach and do research) and not according to the discipline they belong to. 3. Assume that two faculty who are at the Associate Professor level teach about two courses per semester, do about the same amount/quality of research, and advise about the same number of doctoral students. If one is in Engineering and the other is in Liberal Arts, it is fair to pay them considerably different salaries. 4. Primarily, market forces (ie, discipline driven) should determine the salaries of faculty. 5. One Associate Professor teaches a heavy load (very well) but, does little research. Another Associate Professor in the same department does a lot of research (very well) but does little teaching. Both faculty should be compensated with approximately the same salary. 6. Professor X has been working at the university for 25 years, coming as an Assistant Professor, being relatively productive, and moving through the ranks to the rank of Full Professor. Currently, the department is searching for another professor, perhaps at the beginning Associate Professor level, who would be a second addition to complement the work done by Professor X (assume that the department has grown and more sections of courses need to be offered). The department is successful in finding a person but has to offer that new person a higher salary than Professor X. This seems fair. 7. Faculty, regardless of discipline, who have been at an institution for approximately the same length of time, and have been approximately equally productive, and who have achieved the same rank (say Full Professor with 4 years in rank) ... should be earning approximately the same annual salary. 8. A survey was done that showed that Associate Professors in Engineering made about 35% more, on average at the top 25 schools, than Associate Professors in Liberal Arts (with similar records of productivity) at these same top 25 schools. These data seem adequate reason and argument for continuing this practice. 9. Let's say that quality of a group of universities is categorized into 3 tiers: Level 1 (Best) to level 3 (Weakest). Also assume that in all of these institutions, there are programs in education, business, and engineering, and liberal arts, etc. There should be more variation (ie, differences) in salaries across the different levels of institutions than across the disciplines WITHIN the institutions. 10. Assume that in Institution Y ... the typical Associate Professor of English makes 40% less than the typical Associate Professor of Business. Because of this, it is reasonable for the Institution to expect that the Associate Professor of Business to do approximately 40% more work. 11. A university is part of the larger community, where salaries vary according to the professions in which people work. Therefore, similar salary variation should exist across disciplines within the university. 12. The role of any university/college should be to produce well trained professionals to fill the job needs of society. In society, some professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers) earn higher salaries than others (school teachers, social workers, writers for local newspapers). Because of this, salaries of faculty should reflect these differences too. 13. Assume that two faculty members are similar in terms of quality of work. Any difference In their general levels of salary should primarily be based on their different years of experience. 14. The salaries of university professors should be based primarily on the number of years of work experience within the institution (ie, one associate professor who has been at that rank at University X should be paid more than another associate professor who has only been in that rank for 5 years at that institution). 15. Salaries for different levels of professorship (Assistant, Associate, etc.) should follow the same general pay scale across the different departments (engineering, business, liberal arts, etc.) within the same institution. 16. Some colleges have a salary scale where the years of experience and the degree you have (masters, doctorate) are the major factors in levels of compensation no matter what subject you teach or department you work in. This seems a reasonable way to determine faculty pay. 17. One would expect that the morale of faculty with respect to their pay would be similar in institutions where there is a relatively fixed pay schedule compared to other institutions where faculty are paid much more in some disciplines than others. 18. Salaries of faculty should be based solely on the discussions between the faculty member and the department head or dean. 19. Above and beyond some base salary that is common to all faculty in all disciplines based on rank and years in rank ... differences in salary between those at the same rank should primarily be determined by productivity differences (ie, better quality of teaching .. more funded research, etc.). 20. The Dean should have the authority to offer whatever salary he/she must in order to get a good faculty candidate to commit to come to that institution, independent of what other faculty in his/her college earn.

12. ATTITUDES ABOUT SEX EDUATION IN THE SCHOOLS
We ran out of time with this scale ... but seems like a decent start.

1. Sex education should be the exclusive responsibility of the parents. 2. Schools should be able to distribute contraceptives to students. 3. Since some kids are likely to experiment with sex, it is a good idea to have sex education taught in the public schools. 4. It is morally wrong for the public schools to get involved with teaching material about sex. 5. Local school districts should develop and implement a sex education program in the public schools. 6. Allowing sex education to be taught in the public schools would lead to an increase in teenage pregnancy. 7. The thought of public schools distributing information about birth control is repulsive to me. 8. Sex education should not be taught in the public schools since it will lead to kids experimenting with sex earlier than they might otherwise. 9. Lack of resources should not be a factor in whether sex education is taught in the public schools. If necessary, reallocation of resources should be made to make sure that sex education is taught in the public schools. 10. I am against having public schools teach sex education because it is impossible to know exactly when is the most appropriate time for school kids to be exposed to such material. 11. Parents are much better at providing information to their children about sex education than are teachers in the public schools. 12. While I don't think that contraceptions should be distributed in the public schools, I do feel that schools should discuss contraceptive methods in the health education classes. 13. Even in schools that do not have a formal sex education program, health education teachers who are asked by students about sex education should be able to answer the students' questions. 14. Since school age kids do sometimes get involved in experimenting with sex, it is the role of the schools to help students better understand matters related to sex. 15. Junior high schools should have 1 or more sex education courses and require that all students take at least one of the courses. 16. Sex education should be discussed in public schools as long as no graphic material is presented in during these discussions. 17. While the public schools might have some program of sex education, it is the ultimate responsibility and right of parents to decide if they want their children to participate in such programs. 18. No financial resources (teachers, space, etc.) should be allocated in the public schools and put towards providing a sex education program. 19. Because most teachers are parents too, it would be better to leave sex education to parents rather than formally have sex education in the schools. 20. Local citizens within a school district should be able to vote on the issue of allowing sex education in the public schools and, if they vote no, then the public schools should not have a sex education program.

ATTITUDES ABOUT POST TENURE REVIEW
My measurement class down at our Great Valley campus and I ... worked on this one ... hurridly I must admit.

1. The time and effort needed to implement Post Tenure Rewiew is NOT worth the benefits resulting from Post Tenure Review. 2. Preparation for Post Tenure Review will distract people from their daily responsibilities. 3. Putting together documentation for Post Tenure Review will be a pain. 4. The process of implementing Post Tenure Review will be simple. 5. The Post Tenure Review process will NOT produce unreasonable amounts of additional paperwork. 6. It will be easy to adapt the current tenure review process to accomodate Post Tenure Review procedures. 7. Deans should chair Post Tenure Review committees. 8. Deadwood in the academic ranks will be more easily eliminated if we had Post Tenure Reviews. 9. Post Tenure Review will increase the colleagiality in academic departments. 10. The stress from doing Post Tenure Review will decrease the quality of one's teaching. 11. The quality of the research by academics will be negatively affected be a system of Post Tenure Review. 12. Adoption of a Post Tenure Reviw procedure will eventually lead to the end of tenure. 13. Post Tenure Review will cause stress amongst the faculty. 14. Faculty who are more confident about themselves will tend to gravitate to schools where there is a Post Tenure Review process in place. 15. I get queasy even thinking about the possibility of having to work in a system where there is Post Tenure Review. 16. The documentation required for Post Tenure Review will make it easier to reward productive faculty members. 17. Time spent on creating Post Tenure Review documentation could be better spent on something else. 18. I feel that I will be increasing my chances for job security if I undergo a post tenure review. 19. It is not the goal of Post Tenure Review to dismantle the system of tenure. 20. Post Tenure Review is but one additional way to gradually eliminate the tenure system. 21. More full professors who have tenure will be dismissed under a Post Tenure Review system. 22. With Post Tenure Review, I don't believe that I will be under any greater risk of being terminated than under the current system of tenure. 23. The goal of implementing a Post Tenure Review system is to be able to more easily get rid of ineffective faculty. 24. I am in favor of a Post Tenure Review system if it solidifies the job security of good faculty and reduces the job security of poor faculty. 25. Post Tenure Review will not impact on how faculty do their work.

14: ATTITUDES ABOUT WWW


            ATTITUDES ABOUT THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)





Directions: Look at each statement below and then respond to each based on how you


feel. Use the response scale that follows. If you have absolutely NO opinion about an


item, please mark the NA category.





SD = STRONGLY DISagree with the statement


D = DISagree with the statement more than I agree with it


A = Agree with the statement more than I disagree with it


SA = STRONGLY Agree with the statement
1. I would spend all day on the WWW if i could. 2. I avoid using the WWW whenever possible. 3. I would prefer to do research for high school or college papers using the WWW. 4. Generally, I would rather use the WWW to find information than use some other method. 1. I like to do WWW work. 2. Using the WWW is interesting to me. 3. The WWW is beneficial for kids 4. The time spent surfing the WWW could be used much more productively. 5. The WWW is the best thing to have come along in a long long time. 6. I would prefer surfing the web to writing a letter to a friend. 7. Far too many people have been addicted to the WWW. 8. More harm than benefit is done by letting students spend time on the WWW. 9. Kids in school should be shown early on how to use the WWW. 10. In order to improve society, the educational system must embrace the use of the WWW. 11. No person should be allowed to graduate from high school without being WWW literate. 12. There is far too much misinformation for the WWW to be of use to me. 13. I like to use the WWW as a source for information. 14. The WWW is highly over-rated. 15. The WWW is a powerful research tool. 16. Children should be encouraged to use the WWW. 17. Using the WWW is a waste of time. 18. Too much using the WWW will turn people into desk potatoes. 19. When doing research for term papers, I prefer to use books and journals rather than the WWW. 24. I think the WWW has far too many ads/commercials that make my using it not a good use of my time. 25. The world would have been better off if the WWW had never been invented. 





Note: This scale was jointly developed by Shawn Dinnocenti, Catherine Weiss,


Loreta Ulmer and Dennis Roberts. Appropriate reference to this would be


appreciated.
ATTITUDES ABOUT DISTANCE EDUCATION
               ATTITUDES ABOUT DISTANCE EDUCATION


                                


Directions: Distance education generally refers to systems of taking courses in high


school or college away from school .... not being a resident student and taking a class


on campus. Sometimes these are called Independent Learning courses or


Correspondence Courses.  Given that, look at each statement below and then indicate


how you feel about the item using the scale below. If you have absolutely NO opinion


on an item, please mark the NA category. 





SD = STRONGLY DISagree with the statement


D = DISagree with the statement more than I agree with it


A = Agree with the statement more than I disagree with it


SA = STRONGLY Agree with the statement
1. I like the way distance education allows me to balance school with my other responsibilities. 1. I feel distance education courses are not structured well enough to be instructionally effective. 3. I would prefer to take a course via a distance education approach. 4. Distance education is not as good as regular classroom instruction. 5. I like distance education courses. 6. I think distance education is an inferior way to take a course for college credit. 7. I think taking a distance education course is an excellent alternative to a class based course. 7. Distance education courses are usually better than their counterpart class based courses. 7. Even if all the courses that are required in a student's program were available via distance education, a student should only be allowed to take a small fraction of the requirements that way. 7. Students who take courses via the distance education method usually receive a poorer quality course compared to regular class instruction. 7. Regular class instruction is the best method of delivering courses in high school and in college. 7. While distance education might work for courses that are electives, students should not be able to use distance education to fulfill required courses in a program. 7. More faculty should be encouraged to develop distance education courses. 14. I would take all my program courses using distance education if I could. 15. I like the way distance education classes allow me to fulfill my college requirements by being able to take courses from other colleges. 15. If I had to take a distance education course to complete my requirements, I would change my major. 15. I think that distance education courses should be offered only for professional development and not to students who need to learn new material. 15. When given the choice, I would choose a traditional instructional delivery method over distance education. 15. I think that distance education is a good alternative to classroom study when it is the only way to take a course. 16. Distance education allows students to see and experience places and people that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to do. 17. I prefer the interactive classroom discussion to the distance education method of communications. 18. I would feel lonely taking a distance education course. 19. I prefer to take a course under a structured arrangement like classroom based instruction. 20. I like the way that distance education allows me to work at my own pace. 21. I feel that distance education courses fit my schedule better than traditional classroom based instruction. 


Note: This scale was jointly developed by Shawn Dinnocenti, Catherine Weiss,


Loreta Ulmer and Dennis Roberts. Appropriate reference to this would be


appreciated. 












Any comments? Please send me a note ... Dennis Roberts