In clinical and forensic evaluations, clinical neuropsychologists measure performance validity using standalone and embedded measures. Given the need to capture neuropsychological functioning through a variety of cognitive tests, newer, more sensitive measures should be evaluated for their utility in comparison to already established measures.…

This dissertation measures the multicultural teaching competency (MTC) and the frequency at which science educators use culturally relevant educational practices (CREPs). This study's mixed-method, convergent design is grounded in critical theory, and the MTC and culturally relevant education (CRE) framework. Findings suggest that the CREPs-F…

The appropriate selection of standardized tests is integral to establishing an accurate early diagnosis and providing timely treatment to optimize language outcomes in young children. However, clinicians sometimes utilize tests that are not validated for this specific purpose. This applied dissertation was designed to investigate the validity of…

The current study used principles of high-quality measurement design including domain specification, item generation, expert review, and piloting to develop two versions of a morphological awareness measure to be administered to 63 primarily English-speaking second grade students: the "Static Morphological Awareness Assessment (StMA)"…

Despite the increasing demand for diagnostic information, observed subscores have been often reported to lack adequate psychometric qualities such as reliability, distinctiveness, and validity. Therefore, several statistical techniques based on CTT and IRT frameworks have been proposed to improve the quality of subscores. More recently, DCM has…

Adolescent mental health is a growing concern in the United States. Children who experience mental health issues struggle in the school environment if their needs are not met. Teachers play a critical role in the classroom when identifying students who struggle with mental health issues. The purposes of this convergent, parallel mixed-methods…

As the population of the United States becomes increasingly diverse, multicultural competency in school psychological practice grows in salience and importance. Based on previous work done by Malone et al. (2015), the expanded School Psychology Multicultural Competence Scale (SPMCS-E) is intended to give researchers, practitioners, trainers, and…

In 2012, New Jersey implemented a broad change to the teacher evaluation system with the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act which identified the Marzano Causal Teacher evaluation system as one of the prescribe models for districts to adopt. This system provides a more differentiated teacher…

There is an increased demand on nursing faculty to provide quality teaching and assessment. Nursing faculty are required to ensure accurate assessment of learning through testing and outcome measurement that are critical elements of the evaluation process. Likewise, nursing faculty should implement a logical evaluation system. However, the…

Assessing higher-level verbal repertoires of individuals with autism and related intellectual disabilities is crucial due to the language and cognitive deficits experienced by this population as well as is the need for valid assessment tools for data-driven and individualized treatment. In addition to, curricula or instructional protocols that…

Although there are several comprehensive measures of children's anxiety symptoms, many have limited utility for screening within school settings. As such, the primary purpose of this dissertation was to develop a brief self-report anxiety measure appropriate for use with students in Grades 3-8. An initial pool of 50 items was developed based on…

This is a correlational study of two assessments used in education. The two assessments, Renaissance Learning's STAR Reading and Fountas and Pinnell's Benchmark Assessment System, were analyzed using data collected from third grade students to see if there was a significant correlation. The data collected was the scaled score from STAR Reading…

Reading comprehension assessments often lack instructional utility because they do not accurately pinpoint why a student has difficulty. The varying formats, directions, and response requirements of comprehension assessments lead to differential measurement of underlying skills and contribute to noted amounts of unshared variance among tests. Maze…

Practical nurses can provide quality, cost-effective care in an ever-changing health care setting which is faced with a shortage of nurses. A community college system in the southeastern area of the United States began using the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) V as part of admission criteria for nursing programs. While Assessment…

This study applied the stages of transformative learning to faculty perceptions and application of best practices to online learning. Research questions included: Can transformative learning theory constructs be used to identify potential barriers in faculty development and delivery of online instruction?; How does the stage of transformative…