Critical thinking is one of the most desirable outcomes of education, yet it is often not well defined in curricula. Additionally, there are open questions concerning the domain specificity of critical thinking. In this work, we present two studies aimed at secondary education. Starting from Halpern's conceptualisation of critical thinking we…

The use of evidence-based assessment practices seems to be a straightforward process to endorse. Having evidence that ties a practice to prediction, prescription, or process has the potential to advance overall practice in School Psychology in ways that have already been seen in medicine and, to a lesser degree, clinical psychology. However, the…

This study examines the complex interplay between language ideologies and oral reading assessments for Black English-speaking students within Reading Recovery, a literacy intervention for first graders. Using a comparative case study, I analyzed the practices of three teachers to explore how they code, interpret, and adapt running record…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the construct and predictive validity of scores on a measure of social acceptability of class-wide and individual student intervention, the School Intervention Rating Form (SIRF), with high school teachers. Utilizing scores from 158 teachers, exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor (i.e.,…

This article describes the development of an assessment system for adolescent reading comprehension. It presents a research context--a reading intervention implemented in middle and high schools in an urban district--which became the impetus for the work. The article outlines the organizational principles of construct modeling that guided the…

School-based practitioners are often called upon to provide assessment and recommendations for struggling students. These assessments often open doors to specialised services or interventions and provide opportunities for students to build competencies in areas of need. However, these assessments often fail to highlight the abilities of these…

Presenting major advances in understanding learning disabilities (LDs) and describing effective educational practices, this authoritative volume has been significantly revised and expanded with more than 70% new material. Foremost LD experts identify effective principles of assessment and instruction within the framework of multi-tiered systems of…

Children and youth with deficits in social competence present substantial challenges for schools, teachers, parents and peers. These challenges cut across disciplinary, instructional and interpersonal domains and they frequently create chaotic home, school and classroom environments. Schools are charged with teaching an increasingly diverse…

Learning to program, especially in the object-oriented paradigm, is a difficult undertaking for many students. As a result, computing educators have tried a variety of instructional methods to assist beginning programmers. These include developing approaches geared specifically toward novices and experimenting with different introductory…

Using the context of a 2-wk instructional unit focused on eye and vision health, we developed and validated a multilevel measure of middle school students' interest in science and health careers. This survey contained three subscales positioned differently with respect to curricular content. Interest in Vision Care was most related, but less…

Effective intervention delivery requires ongoing assessment to determine whether students are learning at the desired rate. Intervention programs with embedded assessment procedures (i.e., assessment that occurs naturally "during" the process of delivering intervention) can potentially enhance instructional decisions. However, there is…

This article discusses the role of assessment in a response-to-intervention model. Although assessment represents only 1 component in a response-to-intervention model, a well-articulated assessment system is critical in providing teachers with reliable data that are easily interpreted and used to make instructional decisions. Three components of…

It is essential for learners to develop foundational literacy skills, ideally, in the first grade of formal education. These skills are then firmly entrenched and can be expanded in the following grades to form a basis for all future academic studies. Appropriate assessment practices and tools to aid this process can inform the achievement of…

The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3) is a revised and updated comprehensive academic achievement test (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2014). Authored by Drs. Alan and Nadeen Kaufman and published by Pearson, the KTEA-3 remains an individual achievement test normed for individuals of ages 4 through 25 years, or for those in…

Purpose: The goal of the study was to test an intervention using a brief essay as an instrument for evaluating higher-order information literacy skills in college students, while accounting for prior conditions such as socioeconomic status and prior academic achievement, and identify other predictors of information literacy through an evaluation…