The Reliability of Summaries of Rating Scale Evaluations of Student Personality Traits

Chapter V: Current Construction and Evaluation of Personality and Character Tests

“…It was found that the reliability of the ratings increased markedly with increase in number of units up to about twelve and that there was a less noticeable increase in reliability up to about thirty intervals, beyond which there was a small decrease. Wilke (149) studied the question of whether ratings for a group of persons, based on a seven-step scale, can be adequately summarized. He obtained a coefficient of contingency of .87 between the summaries of two independent readers.…”

The reliability of the Wilke Personality Rating Scale.

“…1) is substantially the same as that developed by Wilke in 1935 and subsequently reported by him to be of considerable value in the placement of students in teaching and in other positions. 7 Approximately two months before the end of each semester, about two hundred instructors receive lists of from one to thirtyfive names of pre-teaching students! enrolled in their classes, with a memorandum to the effect that at the end of the term the instructor will be asked for personality and character ratings on these particular students.…”

“…The number of reports in some cases was fewer than five, occasionally one only, where the student attended the College for one year or less 5. Wilke has determined the reliability of the 'summaries' of the rating scale evaluations but not the reliability of the individual items 7.…”