The Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery identifies cognitive deficits and localizes specific brain impairment in individuals age 15 or older. The instrument uses visual stimulus cards and an audiotape to assess performance in such areas as tactile functions, speech, arithmetic, and memory. This paper examines test administration, summation…

Youth violence is a serious global public health problem. Despite a decline in homicide rates across the United States during the 1990s, homicide rates are again rising and continue to claim the lives of many young people. The human and economic toll of violence on young people, their families, and society is high. Homicide is the second leading…

Reasons why there are few incentives for test publishers to make significant innovations in what is tested or how it is tested are given. A brief discussion of research on growth spurts in the brain, hemispheric differences, and other neurological phenomena is followed by a discussion of some conclusions drawn from this work. While skepticism is…

The study examined performance of limited-English proficient Hispanic students on a battery of psychometric instruments designed to appropriately assess linguistic minority students. Subjects consisted of three groups: 44 nonhandicapped, 45 learning-disabled, and 39 mildly mentally retarded elementary-level students. Instruments included the…

Procedures that could be used to assess progress in instructional programs designed to enhance cognitive skills are reviewed, discussing measures of the following parameters: (1) knowledge acquisition, organization, and structure; (2) problem representation; (3) mental models; (4) metacognitive skills; (5) automaticity of performance; and (6)…

Four studies of the reliability and validity of needs assessment instruments developed by the Taylor Public Schools, Michigan, are described. The studies focused on the stability of student scores, classification stability, content validity, and concurrent validity. Consisting of separate tests for kindergarten, first and second grade, the…

Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) is a technique in which audiotapes are used to evoke students' memories concerning their own thinking. Reports a study using IPR to probe elementary students' (n=17) thinking during a problem-solving situation. Concluded that IPR has potential in classroom research. (MDH)

This paper gives a description of a videotape used with inservice teachers as a model for demonstrating the clinical interviewing technique. It describes what is seen on the tape, as well as the child's and interviewer's comments and reactions. It also describes the plan and purpose of the interviewer's questions and outlines the process that…

Proposes the use of procedural task analysis as a tool to assess a person's mental processes during problem solving in science education research. Uses transcriptions of videotape or audiotape problem-solving sessions to identify students' knowledge structures and misconceptions. (MDH)

This book grew out of a conference sponsored by the Educational Testing Service and the University of Wisconsin's National Center for Research in Mathematical Science Education that focused on assessment issues in mathematics education. The book's 16 chapters focus on clarifying and articulating the goals of assessment and instruction. They are…

Describes the method of having children observe videotapes of other children's mathematics activities to gain insights into the observing children's thought processes and the observed children's activities. Discusses the applications of this method as a research tool and as a probe for classroom teachers in evaluating students. (MDH)

This paper reviews eight major problem areas concerning testing practices of interest to professionals practicing psychology in the schools. These areas, identified by the Task Force on Psychology in the Schools of the American Psychological Association, include: (1) test use; (2) diagnostic versus placement tests; (3) informed parental consent…