The author responds to a previous article (EC 122 795) explaining and critiquing various efficiency index formulas to quantify the effectiveness of intervention in preschool program for the handicapped. (DB)

The current technical history of nonbiased assessment for children with suspected handicapping conditions is highlighted. Definitions of fairness and experts' attempts to alleviate problems associated with bias in assessment are reviewed. Factors relating to nonbiased assessment are emphasized that normally do not receive sufficient attention.…

This article argues that curriculum-based assessment and direct instruction are not models of assessment and instruction for human learning but isolated sets of measurement and control procedures. The paper advocates holistic understandings of assessment that directly emerge from human aspects of learning and teaching and from understandings of…

This commentary on a paper by L. Heshusius (EC 600 327) argues that, rather than rejecting empiricism, postmechanistic science embraces a more sophisticated view of empiricism and scientific method. The commentary also supports direct instruction with the use of multiple measures of educational progress, quantitative and qualitative alike. (JDD)

This commentary on a paper by L. Heshusius (EC 600 327) describes key ideas of direct instruction and reflects on the original paper from a perspective that incorporates the realities of classrooms. The commentary calls for serious, systematic inquiry that explores instructional environments for special education students using constructs from…

In response to a paper by L. Heshusius (EC 600 327), this article clarifies fundamental concepts of curriculum-based assessment and discusses specific points of misrepresentation. The article concludes that Heshusius has created a narrow reductionistic view of reality instead of a dynamic evolving approach to assessment, curriculum, and…

This article discusses the assessment and evaluation of infants and toddlers with disabilities or at risk for developing disabilities, recent contributions to knowledge of assessment of infants and toddlers, current practices, and future trends. The paper cautions against using one test for all purposes or using a test with an insufficient…

Four researchers argue the merits of qualitative methodology and its particular relevance to those in special education who seek to move beyond a deficit perspective. Unconstrained by defined variables and decontextualized settings, qualitative methods allowed the researchers to extend the scope of their studies beyond originally stated research…

The definition of progress as applied to writing research and practice is examined, and three different approaches to understanding the writing of exceptional children are considered: a literal approach, an interpretive approach, and an evaluative approach. The scientific and social implications of each of the approaches are considered.…

This literature review discusses the match between tests and curricula, measurement validity and instructional utility when sampling student performance in general and advantages/disadvantages of sampling performance in the curriculum. It concludes that sampling from the curriculum is not essential and outlines three critical features ensuring the…

This article presents a schema designed to guide the development of theory, methodology, and research related to the psychoeducational assessment of African-American learners with gifts and talents. The relationships among African-American worldviews, needed psychoeducational assessment theory and methodology, and desirable assessment and…

The paper outlines the rationale and development of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and its empirical support; summarizes two reading models (Chall's stages of reading development and LaBerge and Samuels' model of automaticity); and discusses how CBM, with its use of oral reading rate measures, and the reading models may validate each other.…

This critique discusses conceptual and practical issues raised in a paper by D. Marston (EC 210 837) on choosing the most technically adequate graph for measuring progress on individual education plans. The critique argues that the Standard Behavior Chart is a technically adequate and useful measurement tool. (JDD)

This article responds to a criticism (EC 231 964) of a paper that discusses graphs for measuring progress on individual education plans (EC 210 837). It notes that the type of chart used is not a major issue; the important point is that teachers repeatedly gather data on educationally relevant tasks and evaluate intervention effectiveness. (JDD)

Two approaches to measurement for instructional decision making (specific subskill mastery measurement and general outcome measurement) are described and illustrated with case studies. The paper concludes that measuring general outcome indicators can bridge traditional and contemporary assessment paradigms to form an innovative approach to…