With increasing reliance being placed on the results of their surveys, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recognized a need for these survey results to be valid and reliable. As part of the work of the Statistical Analysis Group in Education (SAGE), an effort was undertaken to investigate validity and reliability in survey…

The paper outlines the development of a scale describing the progression of literacy skills, based on similar scales used in second-language acquisition. The scale is shown to have high reliability and appropriate criterion validity. Use of the scale to analyze student reading development is illustrated. Appended are descriptions of the scale's…

The Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventories for first grade and over was designed to assess children's and adults' self-esteem. It consists of four self-esteem scores for children (general, social, academic, and parental) and three for adults (general, social, and personal). A Lie subscale is included to ascertain defensiveness and the possibility…

Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm is well suited for research on school effectiveness. Criteria for identifying effective schools should be thought of as indicators of learning occurring in a context of school practices and other influences. Use of the term "outcomes" implies a linear cause and effect relationship between school…

Examines the origin and current meaning of the labels, ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a foreign language). Places these acronyms in historical context, evaluates their current credibility, distinguishes three contexts commonly referred to as ESL environments and proposes a new nomenclature that better captures the role of…