The goal of this study was to extend research on scale contextualization (i.e., frame-of-reference effect) to the decision making styles construct, compare the effects of contextualization across three unique decision style scales, and examine the consequences of scale contextualization within an item response theory framework. Based on a mixed…

Everyone who runs a youth program believes in their hearts that their program helps kids, but in their heads, they know they need convincing data to prove it. This guide--updated from 2011--is here to help them get the data they need. The guide addresses a common problem throughout the youth field: Out-of-school time (OST) programs can help youth…

Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

Quality and feasibility factors affect decision making in choice of assessment methods. Quality factors include the psychometric concepts of reliability, validity, and fairness. Feasibility factors include cost, time, complexity, and acceptability. Tradeoffs are illustrated in two case studies that examine single versus multiple purposes, high…

This paper uses the concepts of decision reliability and validity to analyze three alternative psychoeducational assessment strategies: multiple gating, template matching, and time-series methods. It argues that relatively little knowledge is gained through analysis of individual scales and assessment technologies without considering the…

This kit presents the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) as a tool to identify behavior disorders in elementary-aged students. The SSBD procedure is a three-stage, multiple-gating mass screening system. In the first stage the teacher systematically ranks all students according to either externalizing or internalizing behavioral…

This report reviews and synthesizes the most promising practices used to identify exceptionally talented students from the Native American population. Preliminary information includes an Indian Student Bill of Rights, discussion of the problem of talent identification, and discussion of special issues including diversity within the Native American…