Tests of measurement invariance are essential to determining whether individual scores or group averages are comparable across populations. While international comparisons of mean IQ scores are common, tests of measurement invariance for intelligence test batteries (necessary for comparisons to be empirically supported) are rare. In this study,…

Designing instruments for children and youth that result in reliable and valid data requires consideration beyond calculating grade-level equivalence of the text. Very little methodological research has been conducted on the survey response processes of children and youth and there are no comprehensive guidelines informing instrument development…

Research Findings: Public policy has increasingly focused on expansion of preschool access for underserved students and systematic evaluation of preschool quality and students' readiness for school. However, such evaluation is limited by a lack of thoroughly validated assessments for use with preschool populations. The present study examined the…

The present study sought to investigate the family, individual, and dyad-specific contributions to observed cognitive sensitivity during family interactions. Moreover, the influence of cumulative risk on sensitivity at the aforementioned levels of the family was examined. Mothers and 2 children per family were observed interacting in a round robin…

The primary goal of teaching is to successfully facilitate learning. Testing can help accomplish this goal in two ways. First, testing can provide a powerful motivation for students to prepare when they perceive that the effort involved leads to valued outcomes. Second, testing can provide instructors with valuable feedback on whether their…

Past estimates of the effect of family income on child development have often been plagued by endogeneity and measurement error. In this paper, we use two simulated instrumental variables strategies to estimate the causal effect of income on children's math and reading achievement. Our identification derives from the large, non-linear changes…

"Little by little, the child develops," wrote an undergraduate in a friend's cognitive development class, and so, for the most part, it is. But what explains the U's of cognitive development? Namy, Campbell, and Tomasello and Cashon and Cohen take a standard approach to understanding U-shaped curves: as the product of a mix of different cognitive…

Two longitudinal studies examined patterns of reading disability in children. Results indicated that remission of reading disability was relatively common with up to 37% of reading-disabled children showing remission within a 2-year period. Results suggest that the presence of measurement errors may lead to misleading impression of the rate of…

In the current paper we describe the methodology and results of the Oswego study, in light of D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow's (this issue) criticisms regarding the validity of the human health/behavioral claims in the PCB literature. The Oswego project began as a replication of the Lake Michigan Maternal Infant Cohort study.…

Examines subjects' processing in misleading test items. Suggests that the M-power for children, when assessed behaviorally, may increase with age in a discrete manner, and have the potential to generate interval scales of measurement. In addition, suggests that, in light of the results, what statisticians often consider "error of…

D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) examine various technical issues related to six studies of perinatal PCB exposure and neurodevelopment and one study of adult PCB exposure and motor function. They raise questions about possible imperfections of the studies, but many of their assertions are unsupported or frankly…

D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) use six criteria to evaluate the published findings from seven different studies of PCB exposure and neuropsychological function. They point out a number of weaknesses or flaws in each study and conclude that these weaknesses make the overall conclusion that PCB exposure negatively…

The seven cohort studies of the relation between prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to cognitive, neuropsychological and behavioral development have suggested that exposure to PCBs can cause persistent changes in cognitive functioning. D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) apply six scientific…

Our purpose in this report is to evaluate scientifically that body of literature relating the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) upon neurobehavioral, health-related, and cognitive deficits in neonates, developing infants, children, and adults. The data derive from seven cohorts: six cohorts of mothers…

The aim of the review of D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (funded by the General Electric Company; this issue) is to "evaluate [the] literature relating the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) upon neurobehavioral, health-related, and cognitive deficits in neonates, developing infants,…