Examines practical implications for assessing child's cognitive development and then facilitating developmental growth. Presents concepts of developmental counseling and therapy as systematic framework to integrate neo-Piagetian developmental theory into interview. Example of treatment of case of child abuse illustrates concept in action.…

Demonstrates the use of Rasch models to assess the dimensionality of an item set across cohorts in longitudinal studies. Presents data from a study on adolescents' deductive reasoning ability showing that the same test items can be measuring qualitatively different latent traits in different subsamples or at different time points. (JPB)

Reports the design of the "Mechanics Baseline Test," an instrument to assess students' understandings about concepts in mechanics. Discusses how comparisons of test results with extensive baseline data can be used to evaluate instruction at all levels. Includes a copy of the instrument. (MDH)