The Reliability of Rating Scales Used in Analyzing Interviews with Parents, Students, Teachers, and Community Leaders. The National Study of American Indian Education, Series IV, No. 9, Final Report.

As part of the Final Report of the National Study of American Indian Education, this paper reports on the reliability of rating scales used in analyzing the interviews conducted during the study. Approximately 4,000 interviews, which covered "adequate samples of people in the schools and communities" that were studied, were deemed valid as a source of accurate data. The rating scales devised by various field centers to analyze these interviews were used (1) to evaluate a particular school or school system of a particular community, (2) to compare schools and communities singly and in various combinations, and (3) to compare perceptions and attitudes of parents with students, parents with teachers, teachers with students, etc. The document provides an explanation of the components that make up the rating scales and the results. Reliability of the instruments used and the procedures used to study reliability are also discussed. It is concluded that reliability of the ratings from the various field centers was high enough to allow for comparisons between various schools or communities and between various types of respondents to the interview. (EL)