Approximately half of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) have a co-occurring disability. Although assessing as well as diagnosing learning disabilities (LDs) is particularly difficult in this population, it is important to properly identify students who may be eligible for academic interventions or accommodations. This study analyzed…

Teachers' social interactions with children are a salient aspect of the classroom environment. An emerging line of research suggests teachers' emotional support consistency is an important predictor of children's academic and social outcomes. Yet individual differences determine the contribution of classroom affordances to children's adjustment.…

Research predicting academic achievement from early academic, attention, and socioemotional skills has largely focused on elementary school outcomes and rarely included peer assessments of social competence. We examined associations between these early child characteristics and academic outcomes into young adulthood using the Fast Track normative…

The Responsive Classroom (RC) approach is an instructional delivery and social-emotional learning intervention designed to provide teachers with skills needed to create caring, well-managed classroom environments that are conducive to learning. This study examines the extent to which RC training predicts close student-teacher relationships, as…

Reviews Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT), a new assessment of cognitive function for technical qualities such as reliability, validity, and standardization characters. Concludes that KAIT represents advancements in cognitive assessment but cannot be regarded as superior to existing intelligence measures until data is available…

The integration of neuropsychological (NP) methods into the comprehensive assessment of preschool children is examined. It is concluded that NP assessment serves as a powerful tool for individual case planning only when used in combination with information gathered in other settings. (Author/LMO)

The authors' reply to Thompson and Brassards's comments (TM 508 778) about their review of the Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) is presented. Issues addressed include different standardization procedures for the WJPEB and WISC-R; the ability versus achievement nature of the WJTCA; and the mean score discrepancy between the…

The Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS) was translated into Spanish, and 32 preschool and primary age bilingual children were assessed in a counter-balanced format with the English and newly translated Spanish forms to assess the adequacy of the translation. Preliminary content validity of the Spanish BBCS was demonstrated. (Author/JAZ)

The need for an ecological approach to cognitive assessment of preschool-aged children is discussed. Purposes of and popular approaches for cognitive assessment are presented. Tests and techniques are reviewed, and implications for the practice of psychology in the schools are discussed. (Author/LMO)

This critique, of Cummings and Moscato's review (TM 508 777) of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) argues that the WJTCA is biased toward achievement resulting in a discrepancy of scores for learning disabled students. This bias is incompatible with the aptitude/achievement discrepancy model of specific learning disabilities.…

Specific aptitude clusters from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) are examined to determine their effectiveness in evaluating aptitude-achievement discrepancies. Advantages of the Scholastic Aptitude clusters over the Broad Cognitive Ability clusters are outlined. Major types of discrepancies, rationale, and research on the…

Ipsative subtest pattern stability was examined for 60 preschool children (31 males and 29 females) on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children over a 4-6 week test-retest interval. The moderate level of profile stability found warrants cautious use of the ipsative interpretation approach. (SLD)

Recent research on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJPEB) is reviewed as it related to three issues: the mean score discrepancy issue, the verbal/nonverbal composition of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA), and the WJTCA overlap with achievement and abundance of scores generated by the WJPEB. (DWH)

Twenty-one studies that reported mean score differences between the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) Full Scale are summarized. The differences are found to be minimal and are attributed to data bias and WJTCA's higher correlation with achievement. (EGS)

The Learning Efficiency Test (LET) assesses a subject's learning modality preference. The reviewer cites the instrument's problems with reliability, diagnostic validity, and predictive validity. The need for better documentation of the test's validity and reliability is suggested. (DWH)