Stuart A. Karabenick was a prolific scholar and a co-editor of the "Advances in Motivation and Achievement" book series. At the time of his passing on August 1st, 2020, he was a Professor Emeritus at Easter Michigan University and a Research-Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. Throughout his long career in Educational…

Comparison of two groups of graduate students on each of three achievement criteria gave no evidence that either of two pretests (one course-relevant cognitive, the other non-relevant affective) was influential. (NH)

Retrospective pretesting is a method for inferring learning by using the students' recollections of their preinstruction knowledge in lieu of actual pretesting. The most significant problem encountered in such a procedure is establishing the validity of the inferred precourse level of information; attempts to deal with that issue are presented.…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether familiarity was a significant factor in increased cognitive synthesis scores and to conduct a comparison of the training methods employed on the basis of the test score patterns. Previous studies had revealed that symbolic representation was important, but they had not clarified the ways in which…

A study was conducted to determine if the observed changes in Head Start children were related to the practice effects inherent in a test-retest situation. The "control" group consisted of 64 children who had been eligible for a Head Start program. They roughly matched a group of Head Start (HS) children in IQ scores, age, and…

Identifying the effects of the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program on the development of children requires that a broad array of data be analyzed. In studying the effects of the program, the evaluation unit is interested in determining whether there is an overall effect, and whether children of different ages and different levels…

A criterion-referenced instrument, Inventory of Cognitive Skills and Visual-Motor Functioning, was devised to evaluate a prekindergarten program for economically disadvantaged 4-year-olds. The Inventory, administered to each child at the beginning and end of the preschool experience, provided specific information in: (1) knowledge of body parts,…

As part of a longitudinal study of the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program (PreK), several measures were administered to the four-year-old children in the fall of 1975 and to a sample of the same children in the spring of 1976. Analyses of covariance were carried out on three measures of cognitive development with one of five…

An application of evaluation methodology to innovative educational programs through a case study of a Chicago suburban high school program for alternative education is presented. The evaluation methodology encompasses the difficulty in combining comparative programs, individual-diagnostic, and individual developmental measures, the selection of…

Approximately 6,500 children are enrolled per year in the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program (PreK). In 1975-76 a longitudinal study was begun to determine the program's impact on the development of children while enrolled in the program and in the primary grades. Samples from a population of 5,245 four-year-old prekindergarten…

The second of two reports on a national evaluation of the immediate effects of Project Head Start describes the characteristics of children, families and programs in samples of full-year classes operating in 1966-67 and 1967-68. No control groups were used; comparisons were made within the Head Start sample to see what kinds of classroom…

The first of two reports of a national evaluation of the immediate effects of Project Head Start describes the characteristics of children, families and programs in samples of full-year classes operating in 1968-69. The study identifies changes associated with Head Start participation and the conditions under which these changes were greatest. No…