The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) self-report form is a brief 25-item measure that assesses the psychological adjustment of youth. Although widely utilized as a screening tool, a lack of consistent psychometric evidence undermines the SDQ's utility as a sound diagnostic tool for all youth. This study focused on examining the…

Interim tests are a central component of district-wide assessment systems, yet their technical quality to guide decisions (e.g., instructional) has been repeatedly questioned. In response, the study purpose was to investigate the validity of a series of English Language Arts (ELA) interim assessments in terms of dimensionality and prediction of…

The Early Fractions Test is a paper-pencil test designed to measure mathematics achievement of third- and fourth-grade students in the domain of fractions. The purpose, or intended use, of the Early Fractions Test is to serve as a student pretest covariate and a test of baseline equivalence in the larger study. In this report, we discuss our…

Cumulatively, participation in optional science learning experiences in school, after school, at home, and in the community may have a large impact on student interest in and knowledge of science. Therefore, interventions can have large long-term effects if they change student choice preferences for such optional science learning experiences. To…

The use of oral reading fluency (ORF) passages within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework is examined. Significant limitations within the current ORF research are discussed. The passage equivalency and readability scores for DIBELS Next, AIMSweb, and a school district's curriculum's ORF passages are evaluated using Generalizability Theory…

The purpose of the authors in this study was to develop an instrument to assess fourth and fifth grade students' attitudes toward physical education. The methods for validation included (a) an elicitation study and instrument question development, (b) a pilot study, and (c) a series of analyses to assess, construct, and content validity and to…

Although researchers call for inquiry learning in science, science assessments rarely capture the impact of inquiry instruction. This paper reports on the development and validation of assessments designed to measure middle-school students' progress in gaining integrated understanding of energy while studying an inquiry-oriented curriculum. The…

Student achievement to reward or sanction schools. These unadjusted accountability indicators do not account for differences in student or school characteristics that contribute to variations in assessment results. Since the "Coleman Report" (1966), a guiding principle in accountability design has been that educational outcomes data…

Although accurate assessment of bullying is essential to intervention planning and the evaluation of bullying prevention programs, assessment has been called the "Achilles' heel" of bullying research (Cornell, Sheras, & Cole, 2006). Problems have been cited about variations in definitions and time frames used, whether or not to…